The Russian Next Door
by delirious-girl
Summary: ALL HUMAN. Rose makes the decision to go and study in Russia. As she moves into her new apartment, she bumps into some hot tall Russian, who is her neighbor. Follow their story as they try to stay away from each other, without any success. But what happens when someone from Dimitri's past comes back unexpectedly? Would be Rose able to handle the situation?
1. Hiiii!

Hi everybody!

This is my first story ever, and I am so, so, so glad that you choose to read it.

I want to start by saying that this fan fiction that I wrote is done (so don't worry about not finding all the answers) but I will upload it every day or two, as it takes me some time to edit everything.

Firstly, I am going to upload five chapters in order to awaken your interest.

About all my story is M rated because I used some swearing, but the real rated M parts are going to be rated individually.

I will try to make the story as enjoyable as possible, by adding some little treats like photos or songs you should listen while reading.

I hope you guys will enjoy what I wrote, and please, feel to review, good or bad, I don't mind.

And:

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**


	2. Bad choices

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1 -Bad choices**

I am the best person when it comes to bad choices. Not at dealing with them, of course, but at making them. That is totally my specialty. Sometimes I wonder how it comes that my mouth speaks without consulting with my brain first. Or how my brain makes all these decisions by itself and I act on impulse, not really thinking things through and then I am left there to live with the consequences. You know, it is like there is an ON/OFF switch in my brain that functions at its own will. Or maybe someone is controlling it, but surely not me.

I've had a couple of bad choices and decisions throughout my life, mostly in my last year: like letting Mason get into that damn car while being drunk (this thing will always haunt me, because he got angry on me for something I did that night and simply wanted to leave, not to see me anymore; somehow, his death is on me), like getting involved with that bastard, Jesse (but thank God that there was Mason to stop me from making a stupid thing with him because I was wasted that night of the terrible car accident), like giving up on trying to make my mother proud of me, even a bit (but gosh, sometimes I swear that this woman has something against me; and she was always so hard to please! so I would do whatever I wanted and let her quarrel all by herself; I just simply didn't care anymore), and my most recent stupidity, the choice to move to Russia. Yep, that's right everybody, Rose Hathaway-Mazur strikes again.

Let me start from the beginning. I have finished high school recently, and I have never ever done anything important with my life, as my mother would gladly always remind me. And she was pretty right, you know? At least this time. I have never really excelled at anything. I was perfectly mediocre. I have never involved myself in any extracurricular activities, I never had a job (why would I, when my father was a successful businessman?). All I was good at was getting myself into trouble. And my mother was always there to compare me with my sweet, beloved friend, Lissa (I swear to God, this girl is pure gold; she is so good, so gentle, and so generous; and I really love this girl). Sometimes, I think that Janine would have gladly traded me for Lissa if she would have had the chance. And with her perfection, it was impossible for me to not compare myself with her too and to see that I was a very flat person. I've never even had a decent boyfriend, for fuck's sake! Not like Lissa, who had Christian, a guy that I totally hated at first. But I got to understand that he wasn't in fact such a bad guy as I thought. He really loved her and he was making her happy. If Lissa was happy, I could at least have the decency to get along with her boyfriend. And we really did started getting along, after I got over my initial unfounded hate. But as I was saying, not a single decent boyfriend. Just some fuckboys in high school (gosh, I really had a talent at picking them), that I would have some fun with for a couple of weeks (but never had sex with them, because I didn't want to give myself to a guy like that; I wanted my first time to be special; I wanted to do it with someone that really mattered to me) and after that, it was all over. The only guy who ever truly cared for me was Mason. But he was dead now, and while he was still alive, I couldn't open my eyes and realize that he had feelings for me.

So, since my grades were not so high, my mother had constantly pressured me to send college applications my whole senior year, so that I would at least have a chance at a ''decent life'' as she always says. And as I was searching through colleges as far as possible from home, I stumbled upon a perfect program abroad. The program didn't actually involve going to many classes. It was a thing that you were supposed to attend once a week, have a three hour class, get your materials, ask some questions and at the end of every semester you had to take some exams. I immediately enjoyed the idea, because I was no fan of going to classes. Or school in general. In addition, the specialization was something that I have always been passionate about: Botany. And the program was only two years long. Of course, the best part about this program was how far away from my home it would take me: Russia. I applied immediately, but trust me: I didn't really think I would get into that college. Like what chances did I really have with all that competition from all around the world? That was the reason I didn't tell anybody about that application in particular.

But this morning I got a couple of letters. All rejections. Yay to me! My mom was going to be so proud of me. But to my surprise, not all of them were rejections. The last of them was informing me that their institution would be very delighted to have me as a student. I got so excited. But there was a tiny little problem. The college was St. Vladimir, in Moscow, Russia. Well, what was I going to do? I didn't afford not to go. My mother will go nuts when she would find out that I got rejected from every other college. And she would be so disappointed. Could I bear the look of pity, disappointment and self-blaming from her face again? The quick answer is no. God, it was so hard to be a constant disappointment to your parents. So I decided to go. Well, it was more of a thing I did in the absence of other options, rather than a voluntary choice, but still. And how hard could two years pass, right? I would manage to survive somehow.


	3. Free to go

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2 - Free to go**

The first person I told about this was Lissa, of course. She was so sad to hear that I am leaving her behind. The fact that I would be so far away from her just made her burst into tears. But, after explaining my situation to her, and after promising to talk on the phone every other day seemed to calm her. I would never give up on her or forget her. She was my best friend. And she knew that. And she was so happy for me, because I choose to pursue one of my dreams and she told me that I was having all of her unconditional support. I couldn't have wished for another person in the whole world to be my best friend.

The following persons I told about my decision weren't so happy to hear about it. Well, one person in particular.

'Russia! Russia!' was everything my mother could say after the pleading I sustained. 'Not in a million years, Rosemarie! You are not going.' God, she knew that I hated to be called like that.

'Sorry mom. But with or without your approval, I'm still going.' I responded with a grin on my face.

'I don't really think so, you know? At my last check, you are still underage for another eight months, and without a written agreement from your parents, you can't go anywhere! So in conclusion, you are _not_ going anywhere.'

'Fine! You know what? I'll wait those fucking eight months! Then I will apply again and I will get out of this damn house forever!'

'Watch your words, Rose!' my father bothered to say.

'Wow, he speaks! Really, dad, I thought you would let mom handle this on her own. But I guess you have a comment to make on this situation as well. Let's hear it then. I am curious how you are going to insult me this time.'

'In fact, I was thinking about letting you go.' he said calmly.

'What?' was all that my mother and I could say. We were both really, really surprised.

'Yeah, I think that living on your own for a while will actually teach you a thing or two. Of course, I don't really agree with Russia either, but I guess that that place is as good as any other. Besides that, the fact that you are going there to study is better than staying home doing nothing and spending money worthlessly.'

Oh, so that is what it was all about. Money. Not that surprising, really. But right now I didn't care. For the first time in my life, this man was supporting me. If he was letting me go, at this moment, he could have said anything about me.

'Are you out of your _mind_? We are talking here about a country so far away, Abe. It's on another _continent,_ you know?' my mother said, gesturing around.

'Yes, I am very aware of that. But I still think that we should let her go. Anyway, from as well I know _our_ _daughter_ , she would be coming back home in no more than a month or so.'

Ouch, dad. That really hurt. But I was going to take the hit. If that was the way for me to go, I would shut up and let them talk shit.

'Fine, fine! So be it!' my mother said, desperation filling her voice. 'Do as you wish! Do what the hell you want, I don't care.' and with that, she left the living room, slamming the door behind her.

An awkward silence filled the air. I felt that I needed to say something, but I couldn't seem to find my words. Finally, I cleared my throat and said:

'Thanks, dad'

Hearing that, Abe's face filled with surprise. But what came next, well, that caught _me_ unprepared.

'Oh, kiz. You don't have to thank me. Look, I know I am not always around and that I sometimes tend to ask for too much from you, but I just want you to be happy.' tears started filling my eyes; but I'd be damned if I was going to cry. He continued: 'And now, if this program is going to do the trick, I am supporting it. But with some conditions.' I frowned.

There was going to be a long list of demands, I was sure about that. But there were really just two of them: I wasn't going to live in a college dorm. He was going to take care of finding an apartment for me. Secondly, I was going to finish what I was about to start, no matter what. Well, I guess I could live with that.


	4. Goodbye New York, welcome Moscow

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3 - Goodbye New York, welcome Moscow**

The remaining days of my summer holiday passed fast, being busy with arrangements and papers and spending as much time as I could hanging out with Lissa. And so, the day of my departure came. I couldn't decide if I was very excited about this or very freaked out. Being away for two years began to seem a lot. But I had to keep my promise and see things through.

Getting up at 3 a.m. was so hard, but I somehow managed to get ready in time and get to the airport with my gang. I hated goodbyes. When you say it, it feels like you are not going to see that person anymore for the rest of your life. But this was a thing I had to do. On the other hand, I was so damn happy that Lissa and Christian could make it to the airport. They were so troubled with Lissa moving from her home and I thought they would never make it. But they were there, along with my father and my mother, gathering to see me go. After hugging everyone and saying goodbye, I turned around, leaving behind a teary Lissa in the arms of her beloved one, a smiling Abe, and a mother whose expression I couldn't decipher. But I could swear I've seen some tears in her eyes.

The flight was pretty okay, not taking into consideration my seat neighbor, who was a little too chatty and stared at me a little too much for my taste (but so help me God if he would have somehow become touchy, I was sure that I could break his nose). But, having my earphones with me was such a blessing. They made ignoring that guy so much easier. In addition, the food they brought us was so damn good, that I was already mentally planning to become an air hostess, so that I could eat it every day. If my experience in Russia would come out as unsuccessful, I would at least have a backup plan.

When we got closer to landing, in Russia was already evening and the sun began to set. The colors were totally amazing. I have never seen such beauty before. I literally glued my face to the window in fascination. And when some of the buildings began to distinguish themselves, a knot started to form in my stomach. I was so close. And so far from home. 7500 km away. And I was alone. I knew no one. All I hoped was that I would get to keep the promise I made to my father that day. Two years would past pretty fast, right?

After a flight that lasted about ten hours, the plane landed, I got off, redeemed my luggage and headed for the hotel. My father thought about everything and arranged things so that I would spend my first night at a hotel nearby the airport, and the next morning I would move into the apartment he rented for me. My belongings were going to be delivered the same day. But right now, all I wanted was to arrive as quickly as possible at the hotel, take a long bubbly bath, talk with Lissa so that I could get a dose of encouragement from her because doubt was starting to fill my mind, and take a long, long, sweet nap.

When I got out of the airport, a warm breeze hugged me. It seemed that I kind of overdressed. To my surprise, it wasn't as cold as I expected from an arctic wasteland to be. I had my stereotypes set when it came to this country. From all around me I could hear people talking and I wasn't able understand shit. Well, in fact I documented myself a little, learning how to recognize some bad words so that I could be able to know when people were insulting me. What can I say, swearing was one of the best ways I could express myself. But unfortunately, I wasn't staying so good at the pronunciation part of this language. So, I was going to resume to expressing myself in English for now. Thank God that the program I enrolled into was exclusively in English and Moscow was a touristic town, so the majority of people here knew English too, otherwise, I had no chance here.


	5. Bumping into someone

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4 - Bumping into someone**

I have no idea for how long I've slept. Hell, I don't even remember falling asleep. All I do remember is that one moment I was talking with Lissa about how her med school is working and the next thing is that my phone is ringing. Shit, is it morning already? But the room is still dark. I grab my phone and answer it, mumbling a hello.

'Hi, Rose!'. _Dad?_ 'I'm calling to inform you that you have exactly' a pause '45 minutes to move your ass to your apartment. The crew that is bringing your stuff will be there at 5 sharp. Now go get ready. I'll talk to you later. Bye!'. Gosh, 5 a.m.? What normal human being works at that hour? It seems that moving teams here do.

I barely drag myself out of the bed, get into the shower and turn the water on. The water is pretty cold and I hiss as it is pounding over my tight muscles. After ten hours in that airplane, my body is not happy. But at least the cold water is doing its job, waking me up completely. I get out, dry my hair and get dressed. I choose a plain black pair of jeans and match it with a black and white striped shirt. I don't bother with makeup, I rarely do. Like, who is going to see me today anyways? It's not like I know somebody here.

Twenty minutes later, I am inside a taxi, handing the address to the driver. I sit into the backseat for fifteen minutes, watching the almost empty streets. Then another five minutes pass. Shit! Five more minutes and I was going to be late. Is that damn apartment so far away? Or is this fucker walking me around town so that he can take my money? I am so sure I have seen the same building like ten minutes ago. Angrily, I lean over and talk to the driver:

'Stop walking me around. I have no time for sightseeing. Get me to that place. You have exactly five minutes or I swear to God that I will get off your car. And you can forget about your money, man.'

The guy looked at me via his mirror, made an angry face and pressed the speed pedal. A few minutes later, we get there. I recognize the place from the pictures that Abe showed me. I give the man his money, no tip, say the only Russian word I know to pronounce: спасибо (thank you) and get out of his car. Now he can go and fool another person.

I look at my phone. Three minutes late. Ugh. But there is no car in front of the building. Maybe they are late too? I get closer and right there, on the right corner of the main door are all of my boxes. I count them. Thirteen. On top of them is a note that says: 'For Miss Rosemarie Hathaway-Mazur'. They left? You have to be fucking kidding me. How am I going to carry all these boxes to my apartment _alone_? Weren't they supposed to _help_ me? Wasn't that why I was _paying_ them?

Well, what is done is done. Furiously, I enter the building and head to the landlord's apartment to receive my keys. Well, I guess I should get to work now. Those boxes aren't going to carry themselves to the fifth story.

I start by bringing into the hallway all the boxes, so that no one would steal them. It's a miracle no one already stole any of them. That was pretty hard, because I had to fight with the door every time. How the hell was I going to carry them for five levels? On stairs? That was going to take me so much time. Yup, today was going to be a bitch.

But before starting the real work, I got upstairs to open the apartment. It was perfect. It was also awesome that I was actually staying into an upper story, probably constructed much later. And it was well divided from the other apartments. That was totally a plus. I didn't want anyone nosy around. The apartment was really cute. You entered into a hallway that connected with the living room, no door in between. There was a sliding door that was taking you to the kitchen. A pretty impressive one. But I didn't think I would get to use it properly, because cooking wasn't one of my skills. Like, at all. The living room was big enough and had some stairs that took you to another hallway, where I found two doors. The left one was taking you to the bathroom. Thank God it had a bathtub. The other door was leading to my room. Seeing that bed there, all I wanted was to take a nap. But then I remembered the pile of boxes waiting for me downstairs.

As I was getting to the first floor, I made a mental note to call my dad and to thank him. The apartment was everything I could have ever wanted.

I started by taking one box upstairs. But, after making the math, I decided that I was _so_ not going to make thirteen trips. The next time I grabbed two boxes. I could carry them, they weren't that heavy. But the bad thing was that they completely blocked my vision. I really hoped that I wouldn't fall off the stairs. I didn't have any reason to worry about bumping into someone. It was just 5:40. No normal human would function at that hour, right? Never could I have been more wrong.

When I got to my level, after climbing the last stair, I headed fast for my door, because I could feel my hands tremble and I didn't want to drop those boxes. Five steps to my door. I could only make three before bumping into something or someone. I instantly dropped the boxes, and said with a bitch attitude:

'Hey, watch where you are walking!'


	6. You aren't going to kill me now, no?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5 - You aren't going to kill me now, no?**

I was just standing there, with my eyes closed, prepared for the loud thud. But it didn't come. I opened my eyes to see what happened. There, in front of me, was someone squatting, placing the boxes on the floor. Then he got up. The only conscious thing I could do in that moment was to keep my mouth from dropping. This guy was so freaking tall. Maybe 6'6 or 6'7. Considering my 5'7 height, I was practically looking at him with my head tilted up. For a second I simply stared. I couldn't help it. Besides his height, this guy was incredibly handsome. His shoulder-length brown hair was tied at the nape of his neck, letting escape two strands of hair that were perfectly enframing his face. And man, his face. Dark brown, chocolate-like eyes, strong jaw and perfectly shaped lips. Going further down, I took in his lean, muscular body, dressed into a black T-shirt, tight in all the right places, and a pair of sweats. I suddenly became very self-aware. Why didn't I put on some makeup this morning? Was my hair looking good? But my thoughts were interrupted by a deep, accented voice:

'The last time I checked, you were the one not paying attention to where you were walking.' he said calmly. Damn, where can I buy some of that calm? If the tables would have been turned, I would already have snapped at him. But he was kinda right. Was I going to let him be right? Hell no!

'Oh, well, then _you_ could have moved out of _my_ way if you were so attentive at your steps.' I said as I grabbed the boxes, got round him and entered my apartment.

When I got out, he was gone. Good. I didn't have time for bickering. I got downstairs and I was shocked to find the guy standing there, looking at my boxes.

'Are all of these yours?'

'Yes'

'And you are going to take them upstairs all by yourself?'

'I guess I am, since the asses that brought them here left them outside with a damn note and left' I said as I grabbed another two boxes, turned and ascended the stairs one more time.

I got in, I put the boxes inside and when I opened the door to get outside, there he was, standing at my front door, with three boxes in his hands. I squealed. How the fuck was this man so quiet? I didn't hear him coming. He almost gave me a heart attack. I fumbled, stuck myself to one of the walls and told him to come in. He put the boxes down, and without any word, he got out the door. I followed.

'You don't have to help me, you know?' At this point I started to feel kinda bad for acting like a bitch five minutes ago.

'I know. But I want to.'

'Why?' my mouth couldn't keep the words in.

He sighed and said: 'Just because.' and grabbed another three boxes. I took the last two and we were on our way up.

Well, taking the boxes up took much less than I expected. I entered the apartment once more and put the keys on the table next to the door. He was simply standing there. Well, this was pretty awkward. I cleared my throat and said the first thing that came to my mind:

'You aren't going to kill me now, no?'

'What?' was the only thing he could say.

'You know, just like in movies. He pretends to help her, being the nice guy, but in fact he is some psycho, and after he gets into her apartment, wham! He takes out a knife and slits her throat just for fun. Or any sadistic action involving hurting someone.'

Oh man, the look he gave me. He maybe thought that I was out of my mind. I don't blame him.

'Okay, I guess I should go.' he replied. Good job, Rose. You fucked up everything again with your big mouth. This man knows you for only ten minutes and you already scared him.

'Hey, wait. Thank you for helping me. Really. And I'm sorry for bursting out at you earlier. I am just grumpy; I haven't really slept last night. And look, I want to repay you somehow. Do you know any place I can order a pizza or something from? It's at least I can do in exchange.'

'Aren't you worried about me killing you anymore?' God, the way words rolled out of his mouth was mesmerizing. I could have listened to him all day long.

'Nah, I'm good. Unless you really _want_ to kill me. But I would at least have one awesome last meal. What do you say?'

'Look, your offer is tempting, but I can't stay. I have somewhere else to be.'

'At six in the morning?' was all I could come up with. 'It's okay. If you don't want to be around me you don't have to _lie_ to me. I can handle the truth. I am a big girl. I won't cry.'

He frowned. 'I'm _not_ lying.'

'Fine, as you say. Then we can postpone this. You know where I live. Whenever you feel like eating pizza, just knock.'

He looked somewhat amused. Was I being funny?

'Fine. As you wish.' And he left.

* * *

 **Are you intrigued?**

 **Any thoughts? Is it good? Is it bad?**

 **Please show me some love either way.**

 **XOXO**


	7. I can't concentrate

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

So, here comes my first treat: the song that Rose is listening to is called ''Diddy Bop'' by Jacob Banks & Louis the Child

* * *

 **CHAPTER 6 - I can't concentrate**

Don't get me wrong, but I had to see if he really had something to do, because I didn't believe a word he said to me. I didn't like people lying to me and I wasn't used to being refused either. So I spent the next fifteen minutes staring out the peephole of my door. Not a single movement since I watched him enter his own apartment. That bastard. I was right. Well, screw that, I don't care.

I turned away and got busy with opening and getting out my stuff from the boxes. A couple of minutes later, I heard the door of my neighbor open. I immediately glued myself to the door. I made a little noise in the process, and he turned his head towards my door. Shit! I got busted. But then he turned around and locked his door without investigating things further. Phew! I was seeing him kind of blurry. I had to clean that shitty peephole so that I could spy better. All I could distinguish was that his hair was now untied. And that he was wearing a dress? No, not a dress. A long coat. What was that, a duster? Where was he thinking he was? Into the Wild West? Well, at least he didn't lie to me. Satisfied with my discovery, I returned to unpacking.

The first thing I did was to put up my stereo. I surely wasn't going to arrange all that stuff around the house without some background music. It took me nearly two hours to find all the things I needed and to assemble it the right way, but I was proud of myself. It was the first thing I did solely by myself. I turned the music on and started working.

About three hours have passed and it was only 11 o'clock. Wow, how slow the time was passing when you wake up so early. The music was blasting. I was dancing in the living room and I was trying to decide where to put the cute light blue sofa. After moving it to a convenient place, I turned around still dancing, and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him, half in and half outside my door. All I could rationally do was to scream:

'What the _fuck_ are you doing there?'

'Well, after banging and ringing at your door for three minutes in hopes that you would eventually open, I thought I could open the door so that you could see me.'

'Okay, I see you now. What is the matter?'

'I came to ask you to turn your music down a little, I am trying to concentrate.'

Ah, but I was listening to my lately favourite song.

'Really? What are you concentrating on?'

'Reading.'

'Reading?' I asked sarcastically.

'Yes. You know, that activity that some people do for fun.'

'Okay, okay. I will turn it down. But can I at least listen to it one more time, please? I like it so, so much.'

He smiled a little, not a full one, nodded and said:

'Yeah, I kind of understood that after listening to it over and over again for three hours straight. Five more minutes won't kill me.'

Three hours? When did he come back? Well, boy, I started to feel bad. I thought I wasn't bothering anyone, but I got carried away. I turned the music off.

'Is the whole building hearing my music? I'm not really used to having neighbors. And I got a little carried away I guess. Sorry.'

'No, just me. The apartments are somehow separated from the rest of the building, acoustically speaking. Before, some musicians lived here, in these apartments, and they had the whole thing soundproofed. If you didn't have any windows open, you should be fine.'

'Oh, well..um, sorry again for...'. My stomach grumbled loudly. I chuckled. 'You know what? Are you busy right now?' He shook his head. 'Perfect! What about that pizza I promised earlier?'

'Why not? I'll go get the number.'

While waiting, I realized how hot was inside my apartment. I guess that having the windows closed for so long could lead to that. I opened all of them so that the breeze would enter. After that, I got out of the apartment and sat on the first stair. It was soooo good. So chilly. Two minutes later, he came along, placing himself next to me (how could a man so big move so damn gracefully?) and telling me that he ordered a pizza and that it was on its way.


	8. A few questions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 7 - A few questions**

The moment he sat down, I took in a deep breath. He smelled so goddamn perfect. Just like a real man should smell. I was so sick of all those full-of-expensive-perfume boys I've dated. It was such a pleasant scent. It made my legs turn to pasta. My luck was that I was sitting down, otherwise it would have been hard for me to keep myself into a vertical position. There was some deep, fresh, flowery aroma around him. Maybe from his shower gel or something. It wasn't very pregnant, and I couldn't surely tell what it was. That was combined with a stronger fragrance. A woody one. I took a wild guess and attributed the smell to his aftershave. But there was something else. I know! It was the smell of leather, surely coming from the duster I've seen him wear earlier.

I was getting sure that every breath I took was a deep one, so that I could take in all of his essence. What was wrong with me? He might think I am a weirdo. And he wouldn't be wrong.

We were just staying there, surrounded by an awkward silence. As always, I felt the need to say something.

'So,' I proceeded 'for how long have you been living here?'

'It would be two years in a couple of months.'

'What about before?'

'Before what?'

'Before moving here, of course.'

'I've been a Marine for two years in America, and then spent some months in Baia.' I was already imagining him dressed into a navy blue uniform. Oh, God, my mind was a dangerous place. And I had a weakness for men in uniforms, what could I do?

'And you quit?'

'Hm?'

'Being a Marine, I mean. Did you quit?' he nodded. 'Why?'

'Not important.'

Well, ain't he a chatty? No wonder he was a Marine. Short answers, exactly on point. Military style.

As I was racking my brain for a new unintrusive question, the pizza boy arrived. Damn, that was really fast. Thank God that now I was going to be busy filling my mouth rather than making conversation with Captain Unresponsive over there.

'Apartment 5-01?' the boy asked.

'Yup, that's us'

I paid, giving him a big tip (really, I've never got my food so fast my whole life), and took the box from him. I sat back down and opened it. Oh, the smell. I couldn't remember the last time I ate, and my stomach was punishing me for that. Another loud growl escaped.

'There you go, you first' I said. He didn't argue. He grabbed a slice and began eating.

I grabbed one slice my own, and as I took the first bite, I literally moaned. He turned around and watched me with widened eyes.

'What? Don't give me that look. I love food, okay? And this, I can say that this is the best pizza I have ever eaten. Now go back to your slice.' I said smiling and gesturing around.

I was already finishing my fourth slice, and unbelievably, this guy was still chewing on his second one. He was moving so slowly, from time to time looking at me, kind of studying me like you would do with a wild animal. What was the deal with this guy? Was he having some weird fetishes I should have known about? The view he was getting wasn't such a pleasant one from my point of view, but he could do whatever he wanted to.

I was thinking about how to make my exit, now that my debt was paid and my belly was full, when at the bottom of the stairs appeared someone. A guy. As well, he was so damn tall. His hair was cut military-short, dark-blonde and perfectly contrasted with his big dark blue eyes. In fewer words, he was smoking hot. Damn, if I've ever known that Russians looked that good, I would have moved here a lot earlier. But the order of my thoughts was interrupted by this man.

He said something in Russian. Well, he sure as hell wasn't talking to me, right?

'Yeah.' said my companion.

Another sentence in Russian. Well, from what I could have known, these guys were already making a plan to kidnap me or something.

'Oh. Ivan, this is the new lessee. She lives across me. Her name is...um'

'Rose' I said as I was raising and extending my hand. 'Nice to meet you, Ivan'

'Nice to meet you too, Rose. Hope to see you around.' and he gave me a smile.

With that being said, the two men excused themselves and I was again on my own.


	9. Exploring around

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 8 - Exploring around**

The last thing I hanged into my apartment was a nice colorful calendar. After hanging it, I turned the pages until I got to March. Only seven months until I was finally going to be free. It was only September, and school was going to start next week.

The only thing that remained to be done was to unpack my clothes. I completed that task too, because I knew that if I was going to postpone doing it, I would never get myself to really do it some other time. That was the way I functioned. To reward myself for a job well done, I took a long bath and went to sleep. I was totally exhausted.

I woke up the next morning, a beautiful Sunday. It was 5 a.m. Oh God, now I couldn't sleep normally. My sleeping schedule was all messed up. That was such a pity. After some failed attempts to get back to sleep, I got out of the bed and headed for the kitchen. I ate the leftovers from yesterday. I really needed to find a market soon, or my intestines were going to make a revolution till noon.

So, as I was waiting for time to pass, (like really, who was awake at this hour on a Sunday?) I heard a sound from outside. It was my neighbor, locking his door. Wow, so it seems that there are other humans awake at this hour. Where was he heading? This was the question that persisted in my head as I was falling asleep on the couch half an hour later.

When I woke up the second time, the sun was up and shining brightly. I took a shower and equipped myself for a little trip. I had to do some exploring today, to see the neighborhood. The only thing I knew was that the apartment was at a twenty minutes of walking away from the college. Which was perfect. At least I wouldn't have to get to the other side of town in the morning. My father thought about everything.

Being outside, I inhaled the slightly colder air. It seemed that the warmth from yesterday was gone and autumn was making its presence known.

After some time of exploring and walking around aimlessly, I came with a list of the nearest locations that got my interest. Firstly, I found a market, but unfortunately it was closed until noon. Then, on the same street I found a gym (I have always enjoyed the idea of going to the gym, but I haven't really took any action upon it, so I thought that I should try some new things while I was here) and one of those shops filled with washing machines, just like in movies, where everybody was going to do their laundry. As well, I found a pharmacy near my building, so I guessed that that would be enough for me to survive. I was kind of disappointed when I haven't found any touristic places to visit nearby. But well, I was going to see the Red Square someday, even if that would be the last thing I get to do. Being satisfied with my findings and not really having anything to do outside, I got back home and killed my time with some chores and incomprehensible Russian TV channels.

* * *

It was now Monday and I went to St. Vladimir's to get some of my papers in order. After that, on my way home, I passed that gym again. I said screw it, and entered it. I was going to do what I was planning to do for so long. I was welcomed by a thick scent of artificial leather and sweat. Yup, I was in the right place. I went to the desk near the entrance and asked the girl who was there ("Mia" said her name tag) how could I get a membership. She explained that I could choose between getting a personal trainer and attending some classes on different areas of interest. I told her I would like to get a personal trainer and go to a self-defense course as well. She gave me two application forms. I sat down and started to complete them. After answering a lot of questions about my physical health and my previous experiences, I was supposed to pick a coach from a list of six. I have never heard of any of them before:

Akim Romanov

Ivan Zelkos (Funny, that name again. Are all Russians named like that? My stereotypes kicked in again. But don't you tell me that not every bad Russian guy in movies has this name. That, or Igor, or sometimes Sasha.)

Alexei Davydov

Ursula Savinkov

Drimitri Belikov

Ilya Alexeyev

What was I going to choose? I had no idea what to do. I didn't know any of these people. So I resorted to the only thing that came to my mind. To pick the one whose name I liked more. So, I marked the case of Dimitri Belikov. I had to admit. It was something about his name that demanded respect just from hearing it.

When I handed the papers back to the short-haired girl, she told me that I have done the best choice. The coach I choose was the best trainer into the gym. But unfortunately, he couldn't accept all the applications, because everybody wanted to train with him. She told me not to get my hopes up about the personal training. Well, I had no hope that someone would accept my college application. A rejection from a gym was nothing compared to that.


	10. The first day of college

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9 - The first day of college**

The next days passed pretty eventless. The fact that I didn't know anybody around here wasn't very helpful either. The only person I could resort to was the guy next door. But really, he didn't seem to be interested in spending time with me. That was pretty obvious from the day I met him. So, I resumed to spending my time speaking on the phone with Lissa, listening to her telling me about her college experience and how she was dealing with living with that boyfriend of hers. Besides that, I was simply laying on the couch, trying to understand the plot of a shady movie from TV, or scrolling for hours on someone's Instagram. Thank God that you didn't need to understand Russian to enjoy a football game. 

When it was finally Thursday I was really excited. It was my first day of college. In fact, we weren't going to take any classes this week. We were going to make a tour of the surroundings, the classes remaining to begin the following week.

Somehow, I managed not to be late, if you can believe that. When I got there, the place was stacked up with people. There wasn't enough space and I had to push and fight my way to our year's tent. The guy supposed to lead us around was standing there, smoking, with a bored expression. To my surprise, it was another student. He had a name tag saying: 'Hello, I am Adrian Ivashkov.'. And he wasn't bad looking either. He was pretty tall, well built. But what attracted me the most were his dark emerald green eyes. And with that sandy brown hair that was styled into a controlled mess, letting the impression that he just woke up like that, and a nicely shaped jaw, his face was absolutely perfect.

After everybody arrived, this dude spoke. And damn, his voice was absolutely stunning. It had a degree of hoarseness, combined with an attitude of I-am-better-than-y'all:

'Okay. So, here is how this all this shit is going to work. You are the reason I had to wake up so damn early this morning after a full night of partying. And I have a hell of a hangover. So, this is what we are going to do: I speak, you shut up. I have one of the worst headaches of my life and I don't need you all to go around talking and asking questions. We make this damn tour and at the end we are going to get back to this tent. Everyone has the chance to ask me _one_ precious question. So use it wisely, fetuses. Understood? Yes? No? Ah, and one more thing. If there is anyone who doesn't like this, I don't care; you can go and complain to someone who cares.' There was completely silence. 'Perfect! Now lets go.' he said clapping his hands.

Oh, boy. I already liked this guy. He was just my type. He was a badass.

The tour turned out to be soooo boring. We went from building to building, and that guy was speaking some nonsense about their historical value or some other crap. At some point, I wasn't even able to keep up with him, but I guessed that even if I would pay attention, that information was going to be long forgotten before I got home. So why even bother? Finally, we got back to the tent, my legs sore, and I was eager to go home. But first, the questioning part. Hell, I would have cut off my thumb or something just to get out of there. It was such a waste of time. Everybody was asking the same questions just in other forms. I think I heard the same response for at least three times already. Seriously, weren't the people supposed to listen? When my turn came, I cleared my throat and asked:

'Are you single?'

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. Then he gave me a devil-may-care smile, and turned around: _'See_ people? Now that is what _I_ call a good question. Give that girl a cookie or something.'

Everybody laughed. Well, what can I say; I knew how to draw attention.

'Oh, and the answer is yes.' he said, still amused.

On my way home I made some shopping at the nearby market. Well, I got carried away because I was very hungry and I ended up carrying three bags full of groceries. When I got to the entrance of my building, as I was struggling to open the door, one of my jelly bags decided it wanted to escape and landed on the pavement. Simply perfect. Now, trying to keep the door open, I bent to pick it up. Then this happened: half of my groceries landed on someone's shoes. And my luck made that the shoes belonged to my chatty neighbor. 'Shit!' I declared as I begun picking up everything, releasing the door. He helped me.

'So many healthy choices' he said, shaking a bag of M&M's in his hand.

'Hey, give me that. These are my favorites!' I said snatching the bag from him.

After putting everything back, he took my bags and said: 'Here, let me help you.' Wow, it seems that chivalry wasn't as dead as I expected. We got upstairs in silence. My brain was too busy searching for a reason why he was so nice to me, even though I have been nothing but an annoyance. Before entering my apartment I mumbled a thank you and that was it.


	11. Instructor Belikov

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10 - Instructor Belikov**

Finally, it was Saturday. A whole week passed since I arrived here, and besides the constant boredom, things seemed to go on smoothly. Who knew, maybe the next two years weren't going to be so bad after all.

And at least today I had something to do. I was starting my self-defense classes and I would also get to know if Mister Belikov accepted my application. I wasn't expecting much. But I was really curious. And to be completely honest, I was secretly hoping that he would accept it. The fact that Mia was praising him so much definitely caught my attention.

After a quick shower, I got dressed. I put on some black yoga pants and a confortable lilac long sleeved blouse. I put my hair into a ponytail and let free some shorter strands of hair. As I was heading for the door, I took with me a coat too, just in case. The air started to get colder with each passing day.

As I was walking on my way to the gym, I spotted at about ten meters in front of me, something familiar. Someone familiar, in fact. It was him. The guy next door. Damn, I just realized that a whole week has passed, and I didn't even know his name, even though we bumped into each other on multiple occasions. As he was walking, he seemed to have the same destination as mine. Oh, God, what if he will think that I am following him around? And if he really is going where I think he is, training into the same place as him would be so awkward. I didn't want to seem like a little teenage girl that has a crush on someone and stalks him everywhere. Nope, that wasn't Rose Hathaway.

As I expected, he entered the gym. In my mind, the plan was already set. If I somehow bump into him, I'll tell him that this is the closest gym I could find. That should be enough so that he wouldn't think I was some kind of a creep, right? And surely as hell no training on Saturdays. Because this guy was the type that had a schedule that he was following very strictly. I could bet all my money on the fact that he was working out on the same days since forever. Of course, I would have to talk to the instructor, and ask him if he could put me into another group of his. And for that, I was going to need a good excuse. My luck was that I had so much experience with coming up with good excuses. I mean, I had to lie to my mother on a daily basis for years. How hard could have been to lie to a stranger? Piece of cake.

I entered the gym, and I was welcomed by the same thick scent of artificial leather and sweat. I looked around. No neighbor. Phew. I approached the girl behind the desk, who was smiling at me. I told her my name and she handed me a key for the locker room. I take it and ask her about the personal trainer. She checks a list and gladly announces me that I got in. Well, that was a win for me. If I could avoid the guy next door too, my day was going to be perfect.

It was already ten o'clock when I entered the room where the class took place. The room was full, and I hardly found a place, at the back of the class. So I would suffice with that for the moment. But goddamnit, I couldn't see anything because of all these people in front of me. I never considered myself as a short person, but given the situation I was into, I had to reconsider my opinion. Well, it seems that today I would have to rely on my hearing and the persons in front of me. Damn you Russian people for being so tall!

The front door shuts. Someone entered the room I guess. The chit-chat ends. Everybody is paying attention.

'Good morning! My name is Dimitri Belikov and I am going to be your instructor.' Nice, I was getting to meet my personal trainer even earlier. But you know what? His voice sounds oddly familiar. I have heard it before, I am sure.

'Okay, I am going to take attendance, so that I can be sure that everybody managed to arrive.'

He began calling out names. Then he reaches to mine: 'Rosemarie Hathaway-Mazur' Damn, my name sounded so good in his Russian accent.

I lift my hand, even though I doubt that he can see me, say present and ask to be called Rose instead of my full name.

'Where are you, Miss? I can't see you. Come closer please.'

I get out of my spot, making my way to the front of the room. Then I get past a lady, arriving near him, and our eyes meet. I instantly stop dead in my tracks. All I can do is to stare.

Oh, fuck me sideways! Instructor Belikov was none other than my fucking neighbor!

* * *

 **Soooo? What do you think? Do you like it?**

 **Gimme some love people!**

 **:)**


	12. The punch

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11 - The punch**

I swept off the shocked expression from my face. But my cheeks were flushing hardly. I was so aware of that. I wanted the earth to open below me and swallow me whole. Even though nobody there knew the situation, I could feel their stares as an expression of what, amusement? Some pride? Maybe even some contentment appeared on Dimitri's face. That bastard! I was _so_ sure that he was aware of this shit. I could bet all my money on that. He knew half my name, but I had nothing. But what was he thinking he accomplished? I just wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.

On my way back to my spot, I made my mind. After this course was done, I was out. I didn't want for him to think I was head over heels in love with him or something like that and I was following him around like a helpless puppy.

But God, the two hours didn't seem to pass fast enough. I was constantly watching the clock, and sometimes it seemed to have stopped working. From time to time, my mind brought back that grin on his face, and I was trying to focus on the exercises, so that I wouldn't put so much thought into how much I wanted to punch him. But, to be completely sincere, the class wasn't unpleasant at all. I really enjoyed it. And the fact that I was in the back of the class offered me enough cover, so I was safe.

But at some point, Dimitri told us to repeat the same movement, as he would pass to every student and correct us, because he has seen that there were some mistakes being made. I hoped with all my being that I was executing it the right way, and I was hoping that he would just let me be. But no chance. That bastard came to me and started pointing out things that I needed to correct. I shut up and did everything he said, avoiding eye contact as much as I could. But he didn't seem to be satisfied with me, and as everybody was still practicing their pinches, he came behind me and grabbed my forearms. The air suddenly became very thick. I could feel electricity passing between us, through my blouse. And his palms were so warm. All I wanted was for him wrap me and never let me go. _Stop it, Rose_ , I mentally slapped myself. _Get your shit together_ , I obligated myself.

'Look' he said, so close to my ear, 'you aren't holding your arms high enough. You won't be able to get to someone's face this way.' and he proceeded to kick the air, still holding my arms.

After that, he released my hands and came to face me. He told me to do the move again. And I did. But as he said, I was kicking too low. He dodged my fist easily. Now, about everyone around was watching. He covered my fists with his palms and begun to move them, directing the punches to his face. As he was doing so, he was drawing me upwards, on my tippy toes. From the movement, all of his perfume spread around me. I was simply intoxicated. All I wanted was to get closer so that I could take in all of his sweet aroma. What was this man doing to me? I wasn't thinking straight, that was sure.

'Like this, Miss Hathaway.' he said, not interrupting the movement. Then he let go. 'Now, do this again without aid.' And I tried. But again, I couldn't get it right. Hell, I was too short. Or maybe he was too tall.

'Higher.' Punch. 'Higher.' Punch. 'Higher!' And that was all I needed to explode. I wonder how I could keep my shit together for so long, really. I gathered all my force, made a little leap with my feet and planted a good fist into his jaw, catching him by surprise. Some people gasped. At that moment I wasn't giving a damn about the others. From me, they could all go to hell. I was too pissed off. Then I simply turned around and left.

After changing rapidly, I went back to Mia, returned the key and told her that I wanted to cancel my membership. With a confused face, the girl agreed, and I was finally out of there.

On my way home, I was constantly thinking about what I have done earlier. What was I thinking? It was totally wrong from me to punch him. Especially in front of so many people. But you know what? He was asking for it. Yeah, he did. Why was I being sorry for? He totally had it coming for that thing with the attendance.

After two hours or so of hanging around inside, I decided to go outside, to take a little walk. But as I was closing my door, he was making his way upstairs. Just perfect! I put on my bitch face and tried to ignore him. I passed him and I thought that I got away, but I heard him say:

'I have seen that you cancelled your membership.'

'Yeah. I did.'

'Why? You didn't like my class today?' he asked with an innocent tone. 'There are some complaints notebooks back at the gym...'

'Look, comrade' I cut him off 'don't get me wrong, but I had no _freakin'_ idea that you were working at that gym. So don't flatter yourself thinking that I may develop a crush for you or anything like that, okay? I cancelled my membership so that it wouldn't be awkward for the both of us. Hell, I didn't even know your name until today!'

'Fine. But you really are a something, I can say. I wouldn't mind being your personal trainer if that is what is bothering you.'

'Well, I _would_ mind. Now excuse me, my _boyfriend_ is waiting for me.'

I descended the stairs as fast as I could. What the hell was wrong with me? A boyfriend? Why would I say something so stupid? I barely knew someone here. Then, an idea popped into my head. I knew exactly what to do about this. I grabbed my phone and called Adrian's number, the one he gave me after the tour on Thursday.


	13. A kiss, a mouse

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 12 - A kiss, a mouse**

An hour later, I was meeting Adrian at a nice café, just a couple of blocks away from the college.

'I thought you would never call.'

'What can I say, I like making people wait. I like to play the inabordable role.' I said grinning.

After spending some time in that café (a really nice one I can say, cozy and warm, with wonderful personnel), I found out that he wasn't really such a bad guy. He was fun and things. He was all about parties and having fun, not really thinking about the future. He was the trust fund kind of guy. And in order to prove how much he cared about school, he told me that that was his third time doing the second year of art studies. Art. You get me? All he really had to do all day was to paint. But besides that, he was a nice guy. He seemed genuinely interested in me, and I thought about really giving him a chance.

So, we stayed out until midnight, walking around and talking about our families, friends, hopes for the future and so many other things. Speaking with him came so easy to me. The only thing that I disliked about him was his smoke habit. The clove scented smoke kept making my eyes water the whole time we were together.

I let him take me home. As we arrived in front of my building, I was ready to say goodbye and let him go home. But from the corner of my eyes I saw Dimitri approaching. Then, my mouth said, without another second of thinking: 'Kiss me, Adrian.' He didn't need another impulse. He leaned towards me, covering me with the smell of cloves, and our lips collided. I won't lie. It _was_ pleasant. I guess I could get used with that. As we were kissing, I saw Dimitri going around us and heading for the door. I swear to God that I could hear him mumble something. I am not crazy.

When our kiss ended, I was smiling, satisfied with myself. I have proven what I said earlier to Dimitri. Adrian was smiling too, but from another reason. We said goodbye, he gave me a peck on my cheek and promised to call me the next day. As I was heading upstairs, I was wondering what I have gotten myself into.

About an hour later, I was all prepped for sleep. I turned off all the lights and headed for the bed. Then I heard it. A sound just like a scratch. That sound again! This was the third day in a row I was hearing it. Where was it coming from? I turned my lights back on and inspected every inch of my room. Nothing. Maybe it was just the furniture cracking from being quite old? I was looking for a logical explanation. But suddenly, the sound stopped. And without hearing anything anymore, I couldn't pinpoint the source. So I gave up, turned the lights off again and got into bed. As I was laying, I sensed something tickling my left leg. Ah, another strand of hair. I patted my way down to my leg and when I touched the thing that was tickling me, I was so surprised to find fur. It was a mouse! Instantly, I was out of the bed and out of the bedroom, closing the door behind, screaming.

Exactly five seconds later, there was someone pounding at my door. I went downstairs and opened the door. And there he was. Sleepy face, but with eyes wide open, a light bruise starting to form on the left side of his jaw (I didn't think I punched him that hard). Messy hazelnut hair barely touching his bare shoulders. And his bare chest, perfectly shaped and suntanned. This guy was only wearing long dark green pyjama bottoms. I instantly forgot what happened and had to restrain my ovaries from exploding. This man was sex-on-legs.

'Rose, are you alright?' he asked putting his palms on my shoulders, looking exactly into my eyes.

I gulped, suddenly feeling thirsty. 'Um..um...yes. I am fine'

His face seemed to relax. 'Then why were you screaming?'

I was feeling kind of stupid right now for reacting like that. 'You know, there is a mouse inside my room. In fact, it was in bed with me. It almost bit my leg.'

He smiled weakly. 'Is it still in there?'

'I don't know. I am not going back there to check'

'And what are you going to do then?'

'Dunno, bring some fuel and burn it down, I guess.'

At that, he really smiled. Not half a smile or a grin. It was a genuine, whole smile. And in that moment I decided that he needed to do that thing more.

'Wait here' he said and went to my bedroom.

About five minutes later, he was descending the stairs with the mouse in his hands, holding it by its tail. It was a really small and pimping fella. I would have been sorry for it if he hadn't nearly bit me. Or given me a half of a heart attack.

When he got close to me, he dangled the mouse in front of me and asked 'This one? You got scared by this little thing?'

'Well, it was really dark in there.'

'Oh, Rose' he said simply looking me in the eyes. But then, his gaze dropped from my face and slowly slid across my body. That was the moment I realized what I was wearing: a pair of very short shorts and a white thin tank top, with no bra. (what could have I been wearing? my apartment was so hot, even though outside was cold) In my feet I was wearing some light blue fluffy socks with little flying pigs on them. I instinctively draped my chest with my hands, to cover myself somehow. When he realized that he has been caught staring, he coughed and said: 'Nice socks.' and turned around. When he reached the door, he added: 'Make sure that the next time you scream like that, it's at least a rat.'

In response, I said under my breath: 'Next time I'm going to scream it's going to be because of _you_ , pretty boy.'

'What?'

'Nothing, I was just saying thank you.'


	14. Adrian

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 13 - Adrian**

Time was passing quite quickly. It was already the middle of October now. A month has passed since the day I kissed Adrian. From that day forward, we were officially a couple. We were spending a lot of time together, enjoying each other's company. Oh, and there was a lot of kissing involved. But we never got over first base. Such a bummer, right? Especially with a guy like that. But I wasn't really feeling ready. And we were just at the beginning of our relationship. So we had plenty of time on our hands I thought.

He was such a nice, gentle and gallant guy. He was always bringing me flowers when he came to my place. Even though I never really liked roses, because they seemed too cliché for me (and this was kind of ironic, right? considering my name and all). But the first time he came to my door with a big bouquet of dark pink roses, I couldn't find the courage to tell him the truth. His face was so bright. But over time, I really came around and started to like them. But only if they were brought to me by him. Otherwise, no chance I would accept a bouquet of roses.

He had this habit of taking me out to the shadiest cafés in town but with good music, where we would spend our nights drinking (me tea, him alcohol; another bad habit of his), talking and sometimes making up stories about the other customers, turning all of it into a contest every time, trying to come up with the most ambiguous scenarios about the people around us.

On weekends, we would just stay inside, cuddling on my couch all day long, watching movies and filling our bellies with all kind of snacks. As the sun sat, we would go outside, wandering the empty streets holding hands.

Sometimes, I would have to study for some test, so he would bring his canvases and instruments and would paint all day long, keeping me company. I was pretty satisfied with myself for determining him to be more interested in his education. When he had no imposed theme, he would let me pick up a plant that I was studying or any other thing that crossed my mind and he would paint it in different manners. Once, he even painted me as a caricature for one of his classes, drawing my hair in a long afro manner, making my eyes and my lips huge. I looked really funny, and I succeeded to convince him to make me a copy, so that I could hang it in my room.

This man even tried to teach me some things related to cooking. Suuuuuch a bad idea. We were so close to burning the house down. Well, not we. Mostly me. Adrian was really skilled into the kitchen, and I enjoyed sitting on a chair and watch him cook. But he thought that he could be some kind of teacher, so he wanted to show me how to bake some cupcakes, that we were going to fill with some home-made caramel cream. This was such a good idea. The not so good idea was to let me make the cream. After burning the sugar two times, I got expelled from the kitchen, and Adrian got on by himself. I had already warned him about my non-existent cooking skills, but he didn't listen.

Another thing he didn't succeed to do was to teach me some Russian. He has made this thing his personal project and tried and tried to make me learn some words. But the explanations entered through one ear and got out through the other in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, he had to give up after only one week, because even if my life would have depended on that, I couldn't pronounce right not even a goddamn word. You should have seen the frustration in his eyes when he said that he was done.

All in all, this guy was amazing, in spite of his little bad habits (that I convinced him not to give into, at least when he was with me) and I really got to have feelings for him, over this month that we spent together. He was making me happy when he was around. And he was so different from all those guys I used to date back in high school. He was nice with me and was not pushing me to do that thing I didn't feel ready to do.

But, as all the good things often have to come to an end, our beautiful daydream turned to dust on a fatidic Sunday night, as we were watching Wreck-It Ralph.


	15. The break up

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 14 - The break up**

As we were laying on the couch watching the movie, he got a message on his phone. He told me to pass it over, as I was closer to the coffee table. The screen was still lit up. Without really wanting to, but as I couldn't hide my curiosity, my eyes glanced over the screen, seeing the message. It was from someone named Sydney. The message simply said: 'Are you still coming over tonight, baby?'

I didn't say a thing. I gave him the phone, pretending that nothing happened. He didn't realize I read the message. Instead, I asked: 'One of your many secret admirers?' we were often joking about this.

'Ha, ha. No, it's just Eddie. He wants to know if we are still going to that museum tomorrow.'

Wow, such an elaborated lie. But I wasn't impressed. In fact, I was so angry that I wanted to rip his head off. He was lying me to my face. Without any sign of hesitation.

In a moment, I was on my feet, watching him. 'Okay, cut the crap. Tell me the truth.'

'What truth, Rose? What are you talking about, babe?'

'Don't you _babe_ me, Adrian. And stop playing dumb. I saw that _damn_ text, okay?' Now he was on his feet too. And I was starting to feel sick to my stomach.

'Okay, and what do you want now, _huh_?' His tone turned cold in a matter of seconds.

'An explanation. I guess this is the least I deserve. Tell me who Sydney is.'

'A girl studying Architecture at St. Vladimir's.'

'How long?' He shrugged. 'For how _fucking_ long?' It really was a miracle that I was so calm. In a normal situation I would have already been screaming so loud that the whole neighborhood would be able to hear me.

'Two weeks.' My face literally dropped. He was playing with me for two weeks. So he needed just two weeks to get bored of me and go find some entertainment somewhere else. I could feel my chest starting to ache.

'Why?'

'Why what?'

'Why did you do it, Adrian. _Please_ , just don't play the fool no more; I am _not_ in the mood for that.'

'Because you never want to get further than kissing and a little touching here and there. You always seem to push me away when I try to get further. And if you weren't willing to give me more, I found someone who was willing to.' At this point I was already crying. I felt dizzy. I couldn't watch him anymore. I couldn't listen to him either.

'Get out.'

'What?'

'You heard me. Get out _now_. Go to that, _girl_ of yours. You disgust me. I don't want to see you anymore. This thing between us, it is _over_.' I went up to the door and opened it. 'Get the fuck out of my apartment.'

He complied without saying another word. Good. I didn't think I could hear more from him. But after he got out the door, he turned around and told me:

'You are going to come back to me running by tomorrow, Rose, and you know it.' That was it. The last drop. I lifted my hand and slapped him hard. He grabbed my wrist and squeezed. I was now crying uncontrollably.

'Adrian, you are hurting me.' I said as I was moving my hand, trying to get out of his grip.

He made a grimace. 'Don't you dare slap me!'

'Adrian, please just let go of me and leave. Please.' I said between sobs.

I didn't realize it earlier, but we weren't alone on that hallway. Someone took Adrian off me and pushed him hard into the wall, holding him by the shirt.

'She told you to leave. And so help me God, if you ever lay _one_ finger of yours on her _again_ , I am going to rip your head off.' It was Dimitri!

'Get off me! Get out of here, man. This is none of your damn business. Let us deal with our problems alone, would you?'

'If dealing with your problems means you hitting her, then I'm afraid that this _is_ my problem. Now leave, before I do something I might regret. And I want to never ever see you near her again, understood?'

'Go fuck yourself!' he said spitting in Dimitri's direction.

At this, Dimitri punched the wall next to Adrian and a loud thud echoed into the hallway. 'The next thing I am going to hit is your face. So if you don't want to spend your night at the hospital, I suggest you to leave.'

'Go!' Dimitri barked pushing him towards the stairs. And he did. He left. Forever.

When I could no longer see him, I sensed a hand on my shoulder. I pulled away. I couldn't bear to be touched in that moment.

'Rose, are you alright?' his voice was so full of concern. All I could do was to stay there, crying and staring back at him, feeling my heart break piece by piece. Then I felt like I couldn't keep myself on my feet anymore. I stuck my back to the cold wall and fell down on the floor. He sat beside me. And he stood there with me until the tears wouldn't fall from my eyes anymore.

* * *

 **Hello, my first reviewer! I am glad you are showing me your support. :)**

 **I am also glad that you people are enjoying my first story ever.**

 **And hello to you too, Friendly reader! I am so glad that you told me what you think about my story. I really hope that the next chapters will meet your expectations. I will surely take into consideration your advice, as it seems to make sense in fact. I am currently thinking about another story, and I will try to improve my writing if I am ever going to have the courage to start writing it. Thank you!**

 **Unfortunately, my chapters aren't going to be longer than about 1500 words tops. Some are going to be shorter.**

 **I decided to post this fan fiction as it already is, not going to change anything about it, because I think I reviewed it about four times already and I would always find something that needed to be changed. Like that, I wouldn't have actually brought myself to post it. So I am writing it as it is, good or bad.**

 **I just hope that you all are going to enjoy the stroy and to show me your support if you feel like doing so.**

 **XOXO**


	16. The stars

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 15 - The stars**

I don't know for how long we stood there, on the hallway floor, in complete silence. At some moment, Dimitri rose and went into his apartment. I didn't blame him for leaving. He wasn't the one supposed to deal with this misery. But he let the door open. Was he going to come back? Somehow I wished that he would. I didn't really feel like being alone with my thoughts right now. And I felt safe just by being near him.

About five minutes later, he came back, a cup of steamy beverage in his hand and a bag in the other. He handed me the cup and sat back down. I wasn't feeling like drinking or eating anything. But the warmth radiating from the cup was doing good to my cold hands.

'My mother always used to say that there is nothing that a cup of hot cocoa and some gingerbread couldn't fix.' he said, with hope in his voice and a hint of pleading in his mahogany eyes. I could see that he was stressing so much trying to comfort me somehow. This thing broke my heart even harder. I didn't want to make him feel like this. So I took a sip from the hot beverage. I could feel it warming my entire body, on its way down to my stomach.

'It's really good' I said in a raspy voice.

'The secret is to double the dose of the mix' he explained while unzipping the bag and handed me a gingerbread bear. I looked at it for a second and bit into it. It tasted like a Christmas morning.

'Thank you', was all I could say as I was eating and drinking slowly.

When I was done, I must admit that I was feeling somewhat better. He was right. I turned around to face him. And I was just staring into his deep-dark brown eyes. They were having some golden hints coming from the faint light in his apartment. He spoke first:

'If you want to talk, know that I am here to listen, okay?'

I blinked, tears beginning to fill my eyes again. 'I don't really feel like talking right now.'

'Would you want to go get some sleep? It's pretty late'.

I shook my head. 'I can't go in there. But you can go. I'm so sorry that you had to stay here for so long. You must be tired.'

He patted my hand reassuringly. 'I don't mind at all, Rose.'

Five minutes later he asked: 'Do you want to go outside?' I nodded. Some fresh air might help.

'Just a second' He rose and took something from inside his apartment. He came back and extended an arm to help me rise. I took it. He was so warm, and my hand perfectly fitted into his. I never wanted to let go. Instead of going downstairs, we took it into the opposite direction, to the end of the hallway. There, on the left side, barely visible, was a door. He opened it, and we went up on some stairs. We got outside, on some kind of roof. It was almost pitch black. You barely could see a thing. He took my hand again and guided me to some pillows thrown up against a wall, and we sat down.

Then I looked up. The sky was splendid. So many glowing stars. No moon, no streetlight to interfere. It was just like someone dropped a bag of diamonds on the softest navy-blue velvet. How could you be sad when you were facing such great beauty? I was deeply thankful to Dimitri for bringing me there. I turned to face him, seeing almost nothing around, but I wanted to thank him again. Then I saw it. His hand. It had some dark spots on the knuckles. Blood. From punching the wall. I gently took his hand into mine.

'Dose it hurt?' I asked as I was tracing my fingers along the dried blood. He shook his head. I turned his hand palm up and started drawing circles. And we sat there, watching the stars.


	17. Not your fault

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 16 - Not your fault**

But my mind couldn't stop working. It was replaying everything over and over again. And the tears began to fall again, silently. One of them landed on Dimitri's palm. He turned. And when I looked into his worried eyes, that was the moment I cracked and started crying loudly and sobbing uncontrollably. I pulled my knees up to my chest, encircled them with my hands, hugging them hard and buried my face down. I wasn't able to keep everything in any longer. I had to say it out loud so that I could make sense of what happened.

'How could I have been so _fucking_ stupid? How come I didn't realize what was happening? He was seeing another girl. For _two_ weeks. He got bored of me in just _two_ _weeks_!' I laughed bitterly. 'And just because I wasn't having _sex_ with him. What was I supposed to do? I barely knew him. We were dating for about a month.' I took in a deep breath. 'So he went to another one, who could offer him what he wanted from me. What I couldn't offer. I am _such_ a fool. I should have seen that he wasn't spending so much time with me lately. That he didn't seem so interested in me anymore. That he would always have to somewhere else. That he was getting all those damn texts all the time. When I would ask, he would simply tell me that it was one of his friends. And I _believed_ him. I _trusted_ him. This shit is all my fault.'

Dimitri was now on his knees in front of me, lifting my head and cupping my cheeks with his palms, tracing lines under my eyes with his thumbs to wipe the tears away. I was sobbing so hard that it was hard to breathe.

'Rose, look at me. Listen to me. This thing is under no circumstance your fault. Don't be so harsh on yourself. That man does not deserve you, trust me. And he would not be worthy of you for his entire life. Not even in a million years. If the fact that he was cheating on you can't convince you of that, the fact that he was so close to hitting you should. No man should act that way with a woman.'

'But I slapped him first.' I said among hard breaths.

'It doesn't matter, Rose. That wasn't giving him the right to do what he was about to do. He deserved it. And even more. He _is_ guilty. And if he was a real man he should have stayed in front of you and take every punch you were throwing, for what he made you go through. Trust me Rose, this is _not_ your fault. Do you understand?'

Somehow, along his sentences, I stopped crying. And now we were sitting there, looking into each other's eyes. His right thumb made its way down gently, and softly caressed my bottom lip. I was still breathing heavy. I gulped, and I was about to lift my hand and get a strand of hair that escaped from the back of his head away from his beautiful face. But I didn't get the chance to do so. He pulled away fast, got to his feet, shaking his head, almost like carrying inside a battle with himself. I was watching him with a confused expression.

He unclasped his hair and passed a hand through it nervously. Then he said:

'We should get inside. It is getting colder outside. You are going to freeze out here.'

I shook my head. I wasn't going into that apartment soon. I'd rather turn into a piece of ice. 'You can go, really. I'll just stay here a little longer. I'll be fine.'

It was his turn to disagree. With gracefully, slow movements, he took off his sweater, remaining in only a T-shirt, and handed it to me, 'Here, wear this. You won't be that cold at least.'

'But then you'll be cold.'

'Don't worry about me Rose. I'm good.'

He came and took his place next to me. As I was putting on the sweater, his smell invaded my nostrils and it seemed so familiar and reassuring, and I felt safe. The warmness that lingered from his body transferred to mine, and that was all I needed to fall asleep.


	18. I'm fine, I'll live

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

Another treat in this chapter! I have put together a break up songs playlist, maybe the one Rose will be listening to into this chapter. It's a pretty long one, but I hope you'll enjoy it. :)

The Weeknd: Cure, Wicked games, Wasted times, Same old song, Tears in the rain

Shawn Mendes: Roses, Act like you love me, Imagination, Mercy, The weight, Because I had you, Where were you in the morning, Three empty words, Why

Sam Smith: I'm not the only one, Drowning shadows, Burning, HIM

Khalid: This way, Stay, Love lies, Silence

Zayn: Wrong, Rear view, Too much

Camila Cabello: I have questions, Consequences, Crying in the club

Taylor Swift: Wildest dreams, Red (cover by Tyler Ward), Clean

Beyonce: Sandcastles, All night

LP: Lost on you, Other people

Ed Sheeran: Kiss me, Happier

Troye Sivan: Fools, Blue

LANY: The breakup, 13

A. : I don't want you back

Banks: Waiting game

Loote: Your side of the bed

Zara Larsson: She's not me

Harry Styles: From the dining table

Jessie Ware: Say you love me

The 1975: Somebody else

Bea Miller: I wanna know

Calum Scott: Dancing on my own

Nicki Minaj: Come see about me

Little Big Town: Girl crush

Bruno Mars: It will rain

* * *

 **CHAPTER 17 - I'm fine, I'll live**

When I woke up, it was already sunrise. The sun was making its way up, sending golden arrows amid the pinkish swirls on the baby blue sky. I could feel it warming my entire body.

I was snuggled to Dimitri's side, both of us almost, but not completely laying down. My head was on his shoulder. He was resting his head on top of mine. I could tell that he was still sleeping. I didn't want to move, being afraid that I might wake him up. After he stayed up for so long with me last night, he deserved at least a decent nap. So I just stood there, feeling his comforting weight on me and the warmth between us, watching the sun reaching towards its peak.

At some point, he began to move. I panicked, so I closed my eyes, pretending to still be asleep. He lifted his head and I could feel his breath on my cheek now. Then, one of his hands made contact with my skin, caressing it slowly. He sighed deeply. What was happening with him?

Without much effort, he picked me up, cuddling me against his strong chest and took me to my apartment, laying me on the couch and covering me with a soft blanket. After this, he did something around the bookcase. I was waiting for him to go. But before heading for the door, he came to me and placed a kiss on my forehead and soothed my hair.

I waited until I heard his door lock so I could get up. I looked around. On the table was a note: 'I had to go to work. I'll come over in the evening. If something happens, call me anytime.'. And in a perfect handwriting, there was his phone number. But now I was alone.

In order to not let my mind wander, I started to clean up my home. I gathered every piece that reminded me of Adrian's existence: the bouquet of pink roses, a pack of clove cigarettes, the caricature from my bedroom, some of his pencils, one of his fancy shirts. I brought a metal garbage can and set it in the middle of the room, opened all the windows and set on fire all of his things, one by one. I spent the rest of the day listening to a break up playlist on Spotify, laying on the couch, intoxicated by the persistent clove smell from the cigs that I burned (dramatic, right? but I just couldn't find any drop of energy to do anything). But Dimitri's smell was so much stronger on me. I hadn't taken off his sweater all day long.

Around six o'clock, Dimitri was knocking at my door.

'What's that smell?'

'Oh, I just burned something, no biggie.' he didn't ask any further questions, but he eyed the garbage can and he must have figured it all out by himself.

'I brought Chinese, I don't know if you…'

'I love Chinese.'

We sat on the couch and dug in.

As he sat, there was a book getting out of the back pocket of his jeans.

'What is that? The book I mean.' He handed it to me. I chuckled and he looked at me confused.

'I thought that your passion with the Old West stops at that duster of yours. I guess that I should have known better. Oh, let me guess, you have a movie collection too. Am I right?' He nodded. 'I knew it! But comrade, if you tell me that you are listening to western music too, I'm out.'

'No, Rose. I incline towards the '80.'

'Oh, thank God. Not really my taste, but it still works. How old are you again?'

'24'

'It kinda makes sense. I can live with this. Anything is better than western music.'

As I was laughing, I pulled upwards the sleeves of the sweater in search of a hair tie. I always carried one around. That was the moment I saw it. A bruise. In fact four of them, from Adrian's fingers. They were starting to turn purple. Dimitri's expression suddenly went dark. He took my hand, inspecting it. 'That bastard.' was everything he said in English, because the rest of his speech was in Russian. And from what I could tell from his tone, he wasn't really declaring his love for Adrian.

'Rose, are you alright?' his face was very serious.

I exhaled. 'You seem to be asking me that question quite often these days, comrade.' He frowned. 'I'm fine, I'll live.'

'I'm glad to hear that.'


	19. Genesis Sasha

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

This chapter comes with another song attached to it. You'll see that I love putting background music to what I write. So, the song Rose is dancing to into the club is ''Life of the party'' from The Weeknd.

Also, I am going to rate this chapter M. Nothing really happens, but there are some suggestions being made.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 18 - Genesis. Sasha**

I spent the next couple of days doing exactly the same things. Well, only with a single exception. Dimitri didn't come around my place.

As I was laying on my couch one day, my thoughts weren't directed towards Adrian anymore. All I could think about was how Dimitri was staying in front of me, saying all those kind words to me. And his fingers touching my lips and caressing my skin that morning.

* * *

Thursday came and I had to go to school. I wasn't really mentally prepared to see Adrian again. But I had to act like I had my shit together. I wouldn't let him see me suffering over him. And I was lucky that day. I didn't bump into him. Instead, I discovered that by being in the company of people, things weren't so bad anymore. Just by simply being near some people, not to talk with them or anything. So I made the decision to go out that night. I picked up a club that I surely knew Adrian disliked.

After classes I came home and fulfilled the need to feel pretty. It was understandable, after whole days of puffy face, red eyes and wearing baggy clothes. I curled my long dark brown hair, put on makeup, trying a new crimson lipstick. It matched perfectly with my complexion. I put on an over the knee emerald dress with spaghetti straps and a heart shaped front, that was letting a relatively big part of my cleavage visible. I covered myself with a black leather jacket and put on some very high black heels. Before leaving the house I took one last look into the mirror. I looked really good. The dress was hugging all my curves, highlighting everything that Mother Nature blessed me with. Adrian had no idea what he lost.

* * *

The club was named Genesis. From the moment I entered, the blasting music instantly made me feel better. I went to the bar and ordered a mojito. I needed to destress a little. Then I started to dance. It felt so good to finally move my body. Things were going quite well, and I was glad I got out of the house. Until I glanced over to one of the tables and saw them. Adrian and his new girlfriend, Sydney. And she was _so_ beautiful. She was about my height, and only a year or two older than me. She had dark blond hair that was falling in waves on her bare back. Her skin was lightly tanned. She was skinnier than me. Who knew, maybe Adrian preferred girls with less curves better. And she was wearing a gorgeous navy-blue dress with silver reflections. She was just so beautiful. Comparing myself with her, I felt cheap.

They saw me too and immediately left the club. I, on the other hand, decided to go and drown my sorrows at the bar. I told the bartender to give me a shot of vodka. It burned all the way down to my stomach. But I preferred the physical pain better than the aching in my chest. So I kept on ordering shots. Somewhere along the line, I lost count of the shots I drank. But I suddenly felt like dancing. And I sat up. It took me a while to gain control over my trembling legs.

When I got to the dance floor, the DJ was playing a very dope song. So I got to the center of the dance floor and started to sway my body. I wasn't really aware of what was happening around me. At some point, from behind me came a guy. He was fully dressed in black and had shoulder-length brown hair. And he was some kind of cute. He reminded me of Dimitri. We danced together. His hands were all over me. I didn't mind. Then, he started kissing my neck. Oh, God, that felt so good. The next thing he does is to take my hand and drag me away from the dance floor, towards the bathrooms. I didn't complain. He starts kissing me fiercely, and his touches are so hungry. I was passing my hands through his hair. He lifted my legs off the floor and I rounded them around his waist. He started groping my thighs.

'Um, Dimitri' I moaned.

'Who? My name is Sasha.' he told me and went back to kissing my neck.

I looked at his face. That was the moment when the magic disappeared. I realized what I was about to do. I panicked.

'Stop, stop, stop. _Please_.'

'No, princess. It doesn't work like that. You don't simply _arouse_ a man and then decide to go away.'. By now, he was pinning me to the wall. I tried to get away from his grip, but he was overpowering me. I began to cry.

'Please, let me go. I made a mistake.'

The next thing I know is that I am on the ground. The man was ripped off me. Now, in front of me, two men were fighting on the floor. Well, to be exact, only one of them was throwing the punches. Someone with long hair. Was that Sasha? When he is done, he rises. No, this _cannot_ be possibly true. It's Dimitri. This has to be some bad dream. I really want to wake up right now.

I get dragged up to my feet. So this is reality. I feel dizzy and I think I am going to vomit.

'Rose, you are going home with me _right_ _now_.' This really is Dimitri.

He drags me outside. I can barely stand straight.

'What do you want from me? Leave me alone, Dimitri.'

'No, Rose. I am taking you home right now!' Ups, the Russian is screaming. He is pissed off. Not good. I am in trouble. But I can't seem to keep my mouth shut.

'The hell I am. I was having fun.'

'Oh, so _almost_ getting raped next to some bathroom doors in a club like some kind of a prostitute is what you consider having fun?' His words came like a slap. "That is _so_ stupid, Rose! I sometimes forget that you are just a child.' Ouch. A second slap.

'Let go of me.' I somehow manage to pull away from his grip. But I was able to make just two steps before he caught me by my wrist and turned me around. He put his hands on my shoulders and shook me hard.

'Rose, stop it. This is _not_ you.'

That was the moment when I committed it. He shook me too hard and my stomach reacted badly. I puked on his shoes. And my dress was ruined.

'Oh my God. I'm so sorry, Dimitri.'

Then I realized how stupid I must have looked. My eyes filled with tears, but I gave my best not to let any of them fall.

'Okay. I'll stop resisting. I'll go with you.'

He helped me steady myself and directed me towards a car. Oh shit! I forgot my things.

'Um, I have to go back inside.'

'No.'

'But my things are still at the bar.'

'No they are not. Ivan took them. Now, get in.' Ivan. Dimitri's friend. Someone else who would see how fucked up I was.

Without a word, I complied. I was so ashamed of myself. He was so right. What was happening with me?

'Thank you for getting my things, Ivan.' were the last words I spoke after I got into the car.

As soon as the car started to move, I could feel my stomach twist. I was so sick. So I glued my face to the cold window. That helped a little. Then I fell asleep.


	20. Drunk confession

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

Hello! I thought about making a little change. So this chapter is narrated from someone else's perspective. There are going to be some other chapters from this point of view.

Enjoy! :)

* * *

 **CHAPTER 19 - Drunk confession**

 **DPOV:**

I was so furious I wanted to break down a wall with my bare hands. I regretted not hitting that guy enough. I don't think I did enough damage so that he would need any medical attendance. Too bad. But I had to get her out of there. There was something wrong going on with her. She was dressed just like a woman of loose morals and she was really wasted. And I guess that all of this happened because of that Adrian guy. He came into her life and messed with her head somehow. She wasn't that kind of girl. Not from how I have seen her act when we were together.

The car stopped in front of my building.

'Thanks, brother.' I told to Ivan as I was picking up Rose's things. He nodded in response.

She was sleeping in the backseat. I couldn't bring myself to wake her up. So I carried her upstairs. She looked so peaceful snuggling at my chest. It was driving me mad seeing her in that condition.

I wasn't going to go through her purse, so I took her to my place. As I was opening the front door, she woke up. And she was just looking at me. She seemed lost. What she did next caught me by surprise. She brought her hand upward and ran it through my hair. That felt so nice. And her perfume was simply intoxicating me. But I had to get ahold of myself. Nothing could happen between us. I couldn't. And she was so young.

I entered my bedroom and put her down. Her dress was dirty from earlier. I couldn't let her sleep like that. I went to the dresser and took out one of my T-shirts.

'Look, Rose. I am going to help you change, okay?' She nodded and turned around. I moved her hair out of the way. It was so soft and it smelled like vanilla. I could have played with her hair all day long. _Just don't_. I unzipped her dress and took it off. She turned again, facing me. She was so beautiful. Wearing just a simple lacy black lingerie that would be so easy to take off. I grunted. I had to regain control on myself. _Fast_.

She looked down on herself and said: 'Oh gosh, I'm so naked.' And she chuckled. I loved when she did that. I grabbed the T-shirt and helped her dress it. She didn't need any tight dress. Staying right there, dressed with only my T-shirt, she was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I bent down to get her heels off. She steadied herself by putting her hands on my shoulders.

'Come, let's put you to sleep.'

'Dimitri?'

'What?'

'I'm sick. And dizzy. I think I'll throw up again.'

'Come, lay down. Try and lay on your tummy, that might help.'

She plopped herself on the bed, face down. I covered her with a blanket. I couldn't resist the urge to run my hand through her hair again. I told her goodnight. But as I turned around to leave, she grabbed my hand.

'Please don't go.' she said pulling me backwards. 'Don't leave me alone.'

Her voice was so faint. I placed myself on the floor, next to the bed. She smiled, scooped my left hand and hugged it.

'You know what's funny, comrade?'

'What?' it seemed that she was in a chatty mood.

'The fact that I was so obsessed with hiding from you the fact that I have a crush on you. I guess I had liked you from the first day I saw you. There is something about you. And so I became Adrian's girlfriend, just so that I won't think about you. And it worked. Until the whole thing blew out exactly into my face. I really got attached to that bastard somehow.' All I could do was to stare. I was at a loss of words. She just told me she had feelings for me. 'Oh, and the funniest part is that even though Adrian did that shitty thing to me, the only thing I really remember from that night is how you took care of me and how you were caressing my lips.' These words let me without enough air in my lungs.

I raised my hand and stroke her cheek. "Oh, Roza, you are unbelievable.'. She giggled.

'What's that funny?'

'Say that again.'

'What?'

'Rrrrroza.' she chuckled again. 'I love how that sounds. You never called me like that before. Rrrrroza. Say it again. Pleeeease.' I smiled.

'Oh, and I love when you do that too. You look so beautiful when you smile. Your whole face lights up.'

So I sat there for the rest of the night stroking her hair and saying her name like a prayer while she slept.


	21. Hangover

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 20 - Hangover**

I wake up as a ray of light strikes my face. It is so bright that it is practically burning my eyes. I move my head. Ah, much better. The rest of the room is dark enough. But my head is ready to explode anyway. I am having a hell of a hangover. I reach for my phone on the nightstand. But I can't find it. With a growl, I finally open my eyes and look around. Wait. This isn't my room. Where am I? I rewind the last night's events. The last thing I remember is falling asleep in Ivan's car. So, if this isn't my room, it could only mean two things. I am into Ivan's home, or Dimitri's. I look at the other side of the bed. It's empty. But his smell lingers around. I am in Dimitri's room, that's for sure. And I am alone, so that means that he is either at work or somewhere around the house. Am I ready to face him after last night? No, I'm surely not.

I turn my head around, exploring the surroundings. I eye a chair that has my dress on it. Does this mean that I am _naked_? I get the covers off me. No, I'm not naked. But I am wearing one of his T-shirts. I bring it to my nose and take in a deep breath. I could never get tired of this smell. _Wait_. Does this mean that we…that we…. _did_ _it_? And I can't remember a fucking thing? This is a very spectacular way to lose your virginity. And only I could have done this kind of crap.

I finally manage to get out of the bed and then head outside. I slowly get downstairs. His apartment resembles mine. Except the fact that his is very clean. Duh, he is a Marine after all. Well, was, practically. But old habits die hard. I get to the living room and it's empty and dark. Thank God that the curtains aren't allowing the sun to enter the room.

'Dimitri?' I say, almost whispering. The kitchen's door opens and there he comes. I am so ashamed of myself that I can't even look him in the eyes. So I stare at my toes instead. I feel like a fourth grader who has been caught eating glue or something.

'Good morning, Rose.'

'Um, hi.' I babble still looking down.

'Here, take this' he says handing me an aspirin and a huge glass of water. 'For your headache. Drink it up.'

I take them and don't utter a word. I realize that my mouth is as dry as a desert. After gulping all the water, I lower the glass and look at him for the first time. He looks so calm. But I expect him to explode any second. That there my friends, is just the calm before the storm.

'Would you like to take a shower?' I nod. 'Okay. You can go and take another T-shirt from my closet and help yourself. I am going to make you breakfast.'

'Thanks, but you don't have to bother, really. I should better go in fact.' I say as I play with the edge of the T-shirt.

'Rose.'

'Yeah?'

'Go.'

And I go, because I don't want to piss him off. I don't want to see him again like I did yesterday. He could barely keep himself together. And all because of me. Because of all the stupid things I keep on doing.

I get back to his room and take a black T-shirt of his. I go to the bathroom and undress. Weird thing, my underwear is still on. Did I put it back after we did it? Did he? Have we really _done it_? I must find some way to ask him. I really have to know.

I get under the hot water and I instantly relax. I cover myself with his shower gel. It says white musk. And so I have finally unraveled the mystery of Dimitri's secret scent.

As I make my way downstairs for the second time, I realize that my headache isn't so bad anymore. Now I am just fiercely hungry. So I head to the kitchen. I open the door and my stomach starts to growl from the wonderful smell, and my heart starts to pound faster as I watch him cooking. Why is it so hot to see a man cooking?

'Come in, sit.' he says without turning.

He sets another full glass in front of me. 'Drink all of it.' I smell it.

'What is this?'

'Coconut water. It helps with the rehydration.'

Next thing, he sets on the table some plates. Scrambled eggs. Bacon. A bowl of oatmeal and a jar with honey. And a multitude of fruits: blueberries, avocado, oranges, and bananas. I eat as much as I can. The fact that I barely touched any food since Sunday combined with this drinking escapade, turned me into some scrawny. The whole time, he is leaning on the counter, with his hands crossed. He still looks calm. But when is the lecture coming? Soon, I can feel it.

As I was eating my damp hair kept falling over and I kept pushing it away but it would continue to fall because it was heavier than usual. He slowly came behind me and took my hair into his hands.

'It's okay, I can do it. I only need a hair band.'

'No, let me. You eat.' And he began braiding my hair.

* * *

 **OMG I skipped a chapter guys! I am so so so sorry but I was so tired and I didn't realize until now.**

 **I deleted the I'll leave you alone chapter and published this instead**

 **I'll repost it some while later along with other two chapters to make it up for my mistake**

 **Sorry again :)**


	22. I'll leave you alone

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 21 - I'll leave you alone**

We got to the living room. He was barely speaking to me. And this thing was driving me insane. I would prefer for him to scream and to scold me. This silent treatment wasn't doing me any good. It was practically torture. And he knew it.

I was walking around the room. There I found a mirror and I was able to see what he had done with my hair.

'Wow, it is really beautiful what you did to my hair. I wouldn't think you were the braiding type.'

'I have three sisters, Rose. I have learned a thing or two over the years.' Yup, short answers. Cold. He was trying to speak to me as little as possible. I told you: tor-ture.

I continued my way around the room, trying to find some subjects of discussion. But nothing came to my mind. This was it, I had to give up.

'Okay, I know what you are doing, and I can tell you that it is _totally_ working.'

'What am I doing?'

'This whole _fucking_ silent treatment. You just stay there and don't say a thing and I can practically _feel_ that you are silently judging me.'

'Language, please.'

'Sorry. But it is so frustrating. I know I fu-. I know I got into trouble last night.'

' _Do_ _you_ , Rose? Do you _really_ understand what could have happened last night?' He was starting to get angry. Well, at least he was speaking to me now. And man, the things he had to say to me. 'Can you even _imagine_ what that bastard would have done to you? What if Ivan didn't recognize you as you crossed past us with that man? What if we weren't in that club? For God's sake, Rose, and you were so drunk! What _happened_ to you? You act so normal one moment and the next moment you just go and do some childish thing like this. What were you _thinking_? Where did you want to get with that? What did you want to prove? Besides the fact that you can have such an immature behavior.'

That thing again. I loathed being called childish or immature. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

'As I was saying.' was his response.

'I'm sorry. I'm _sorry_ okay?' It was hard to speak, as there was something in the back of my throat blocking my words. 'I didn't _do_ things on purpose. It's just the fact that I wanted to go out and have a little fun, to be around people. Everything was alright, I swear to God. But then I saw him with that girl and something snapped inside me. I got to the bar and wanted to just numb everything. And the next thing I know is that I am dancing and this guy is all over me and I thought…'

'You thought _what_ , Rose?' I didn't say a thing. 'Rose? Tell me.'

'I thought that that man was _you_ , okay? I was so _fucking_ wasted that I thought that man was you, because he resembled you, and he seemed to want me, and I needed to feel wanted because that bastard made me feel like shit and seeing his new girlfriend made me feel so cheap because she was so beautiful. But for the most of the time I couldn't think straight, just like something was clouding my brain. Do you get it? I didn't _plan_ on things turning out like that.' I realized I was crying now. God knows for how long.

'And then you come along get me out of these situations and you keep on being so nice to me on so many occasions, even though you owe me nothing and I was such a bitch to you since the first day we met. Hell, I even punched you. And I keep on bringing shit into your life because I am this _fucking_ mess and you don't deserve it because you are _such_ a nice guy.'

He came closer, sadness filling his eyes.

'And I _hated_ that I was so helpless back then.' I unconsciously touch my bruised wrist. 'I always think that I can handle things but the truth is that I am good for nothing and get myself into the stupidest situations, that I have no goddamn idea how to deal with.' I was talking through harsh sobs.

In a blink of an eye, he wrapped me into his arms. I buried my face into his chest and cried my lungs out.

'Don't hate me, please.'

'I could never hate you, Roza.'

I pulled away fast. There I was, doing it all again. Why was I making life hard for this man?

'I'm so sorry, Dimitri. I'm complicating your life for no reason. You don't have to deal with this mess. I'll leave you alone. You don't deserve this.'

I run upstairs and grab my dress, my purse and my jacket.

I was on my way to the door. He was just staying in the middle of the living room, watching me. Before closing the door, I lastly said:

'And I thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you have done for me. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you enough.'

And I closed the door behind me.

* * *

 **Too dramatic? Don't worry, they won't stay away from each other much.**


	23. Training A deal

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 22 - Training. A deal**

Two days later, I gathered all my courage and went to knock at his door. This wasn't very easy for me, because I have deliberately been avoiding him since that day. What more could have I said? I knew I did the right thing getting out of his life. And things should stay like this. Definitely.

He opened the door and smiled when his eyes landed on me. Oh my God, that smile. It was so warm and I could feel my knees go weak. His smile was like the sun appearing after a storm, brightening everything around and assuring you that everything is alright again. _Stop it, Rose. Do what you came to do and leave him alone._

'Hi. I um...I came to return this.' it was his T-shirt, washed and neatly folded. I handed it to him. 'Thank you for borrowing it to me.' he wasn't saying anything. 'Well, I guess I'll go now.' I turned and put my hand on the doorknob when he spoke:

'Rose?'

'Yeah?' _please don't say anything that I would regret hearing._

'Do you remember what you told me the other day?'

'You'll have to be a little more specific about that. I said a lot of things that day.'

'About you hating feeling helpless.' Oh, that one. I nodded.

'I think I can help you with that.'

'Why?'

He shrugged. 'Simply because.' Here he was again, trying to help me ''simply because''.

In my mind came the two recent moments I couldn't defend myself. I could still feel Adrian's grip on my wrist. And that Sasha guy pressing me into that wall.

'How?'

'I could train you. This is what I'm good at. I have a lot of practice. So I could teach you to defend yourself.'

 _No! No! Rose, NO!_ My brain was screaming at me _. Leave this man alone. Say no. Say no! Refuse him right now. Leave him alone!_

'Fine.' is what I said instead. 'When do we start?'

'Tomorrow is alright?'

'Yeah, it's fine tomorrow.'

'I'll see you at five thirty?'

'Yeah, I'll see you.'

What was I doing again? But more important, why was he still trying to reach out to me? Why couldn't I say no? Because I can't seem to stay away from this man, that's why. There was something like a magnet, always pulling me towards him. I was starting to fall in love hard with Dimitri and I didn't know what to do.

* * *

Someone was pounding at my door. I look at the clock on my nightstand. 5:35 a.m. Was the building on fire or something? Let them knock. Maybe they will get bored and walk away. But no. The person was still pounding at my door. I drag myself out of the bed and go to the door. I open it. Dimitri is standing there, dressed in sportswear.

'You are late.' Oh, so when he said five thirty he meant five thirty in the morning? Is he insane?

'You have got to be kidding me, right?'

'No, I am not. It's 5:35 and you are still in your pyjamas as I can see.'

'Well, you see, I thought you said five thirty in the evening.'

'I didn't. This is my usual running time. And I am taking you with me. Come on. Go and get dressed. I'll wait for you.'

'At least wait for me inside.'

* * *

Five minutes later I was ready and we got outside.

After another five minutes I was feeling like I was going to die. The cold air was making my chest hurt and I couldn't feel my legs.

'Can we go back now? Are we done already?'

He stops running and comes back to where I am standing, bent over, catching my breath.

'Is this all you can do?'

'Yes. And I am feeling like I am dying right now.'

'So it's going to be really hard for you to progress.'

'What do you mean?' was I that bad?

'Only five minutes passed since we started, Rose. And you are already out of breath. And look how close we are from where we started.'

'Five minutes, huh? No, we must have been running for at least half an hour. Or at least it feels like we did. You do this every day? How much do you run per day?'

'I usually make 10 km a day.' My face literally dropped.

'Okay, and how long would it take me to run as much?'

'Don't know. Maybe three months. This if you run every day. Three months at least, considering the level you are starting from.'

'No, I can do this, comrade. In less than three months. I just need to find some motivation.' I was trying not to be weak anymore. I was going to show him that I can do it. 'With the right motivation, I'm sure I can run 10 km in a month, not three.'

'No, you won't.'

'Is that a challenge, comrade?' I loved challenges. And proving people wrong.

'Maybe it is.'

'Fine. Give me your best time.'

'32 minutes and 16 seconds.' What?

'You are messing with me, right?'

'No Rose, I am not.' I must be some kind of special kind of insane to get into this. But he didn't think I could do it. And I wanted so much to prove him wrong.

'Perfect. In one month's time, I am going to beat it. And you will have to repay me somehow. You will give me something.'

'Deal. Name it. Anything.'

'Anything, comrade?'

'Anything.'

'Hm, I don't know.' But then the stupidest idea came to my mind. 'What about a kiss?'

With a smug expression he said 'Fine.' Fine? He accepted this deal waaaaay too easy.

'Why did you agree so fast? Oh, you really don't think I can do it, do you?'

Keeping the same expression, he shook his head.

'Well, then you'd better prepare those pretty lips for that kiss, _Belikov_ , because I am going to make it. See you tomorrow.'

'In fact, I wanted to take you to the gym later.'

'It's fine with me. See ya later.'

* * *

 **I am going to respond to a question one of you addressed to me.**

 **I supposed that in Moscow, a touristic town, visited by many people, the locals would know how to speak English, so this is how Rose is managing to survive into a foreign country.**

 **If this is not what happens in reality, then I am sorry, but I didn't know.**


	24. The rain The fever

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 23 - The rain. The fever**

We hit the gym around one o'clock.

I can say that I have never been put to the ground so many times in entire my life. Dimitri told me to attack him in every possible way I could think of, and he would show me how to avert it or how to escape some grips. I really appreciated the fact that he wasn't going easy on me. I didn't need to be treated like I was made from glass. But my butt had other opinion. The only good thing was that I actually learned a move or two that day.

When I got home, I felt that I could sleep for an entire week and I'd still be tired. I was that exhausted. But I only took a nap, because I had in plan to go running later again, alone. Dimitri challenged me, and I wanted so bad to prove him wrong. So I was going to work my ass off for that.

Around seven or so, I easily snuck out, because I didn't want him to see me try so hard. I wanted to surprise him with my sudden progress.

The second time I ran, I was able to do it for seven minutes tops before giving up. Was I really going to get this done? I guess I had no choice but to try.

* * *

November came with a lot of rainy and cloudy days. It was somehow depressing not to see the sun for so long anymore.

Over the next two weeks, my days were exactly the same: morning run with Dimitri, coming home, shower, big breakfast, maybe some studying or just simply wasting my time around the house, training at the gym, some more wasting of time, secret run, sleep. It was pretty eventless. But I couldn't complain. I got to spend time with Dimitri and impress him with my continuous progress. And when I got my head on my pillow at night, I would instantly fall asleep, not having to spend time alone with my thoughts. Which was pretty nice. Also, I started to see some changes in my body. I was getting stronger, and my body was so toned, some muscles beginning to show. I really liked that.

I decided that I would run every day those 10 km, not depending how much it would take me to do so. I was so happy when I realized that it took me less and less every day, even if it was only a matter of seconds. Today was no different. Except the fact that as I was running my last 3 km, it started to rain.

'Rose, let's go take cover.'

'The hell I am. I am so close. I only have about 3 km left. Furthermore, a little rain never hurt anybody.'

'Rose, let's go. You'll get sick.'

'No, I won't. It's not that cold either. I'll be fine. Stop worrying.'

'You are hot from running. It's in fact pretty cold outside today. Let's go hide under something until it passes.'

'You go do that, comrade. I'm going to finish my course.' And I kept on running. He followed.

When we got back to our building, we were both soaking wet.

'See? It wasn't that bad. And the bright side is that I can skip my shower. The rain took care of everything. I, in fact, saved myself some precious time here, comrade.' I said laughing.

'Sure. Go change yourself quickly. I'll see you later.'

* * *

Everything went well with our training later that day. But after I got home from the gym, I started feeling a little bad. Damn him, he was right. I was going to catch a cold. All-knowing Russian.

I cancelled my secret evening run and instead of that, I made myself a big cup of tea and took a long hot bath. I started feeling better. Maybe I would be alright until the next day. Yeah, I wasn't going to get sick. I had a good immunity system and I rarely did catch a cold.

But I wasn't so lucky this time. Around five or so in the morning, I woke up. My head was pounding, I had a sore throat, and all my flesh was hurting, not being able to even move without feeling pain. But the worst of all, I was running a fever. I wasn't sweating, but I could feel the heat inside. I took my temperature. 40®C. That was so bad. I had to do something about that. I could feel my organs boiling inside. And I wasn't thinking straight at all. I remembered the day I moved in. My apartment was so hot that I got out on the hallway to cool down. Yeah, that was a good idea. I got out. It was so much better. Fresh cold air cooling heated my skin. But it was suddenly so hard to keep myself on my feet. I was drained. So I just sprawled myself on that hallway, between the doors, with my back glued to the cold floor. Just for five minutes. The cold stone felt so good. Just five minutes. But then I closed my eyes and lost contact with reality.


	25. I'll keep you warm

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 24 - I'll keep you warm**

 **DPOV:**

The clock shows 5:30. I get out of the apartment to wait for Roza. I hope she won't be late again. Even if her life would depend on that, she couldn't be ready on time. Ever.

But as I open the door, I stop into the doorframe as I see her stretched on the hallway floor with her hands extended to the sides, looking like a starfish. At least she is not late this time. She must be fooling around again, just like she always does. But why is she still dressed in her pyjamas? I bet this is some plan of hers to skip today's run or something.

'Rose, come on, stop fooling around. Get up. And why aren't you dressed yet? It's already 5:30. Go get ready right now. I'll give you five minutes.'

'Hmmmmmm.' is her response. She sounds like she is hurting.

'Roza?' I lean over her. She doesn't seem very responsive. I touch her face. She is burning all over, and her cheeks are flushed. 'What are you doing here? Why aren't you in bed? You are burning. '

'Mmmmmm, I was too hot. The hallway…..cold.'

Goddamnit, I knew I shouldn't have left her run into the rain yesterday. I should have picked her up no matter what she said or how much she would have protested and take her somewhere to take cover from the rain. Why did I even listen to her?

I pick her up. She is so hot and so, so pale. Her body seems so small and weak as I carry her inside. Why did I listen to her? I am so going to tell her that I was right when she gets better. She should have listened to me. But this doesn't matter anymore. What is done is done. The only important thing right now is that I have to take care of her.

I get to my bedroom and I gently place her on my bed, careful not to touch her very much, because at every touch of mine she moans lightly. Her whole body must be hurting from the fever.

I go fetch some medicine to help bring her temperature down and a big glass of water. She needs lots of liquids too. I get back to the room and try to wake her up. I pull her up so that she is sitting up now on the edge of the bed. She is shaking so hard. She must have shivers from the fever. I somehow manage to keep her conscious enough to make her take the pill and drink all the water. Then I help her lay on her back and cover her with three blankets. She must be cold and I have to make her shaking stop.

I get into bed with her, over the covers. I soothe her hair and tell her how sorry I am for letting her run into the rain and that I should have known better; her body wasn't used with our climate. She turns her head my way and says: 'Dimitri, I am so cold. So cold.', her voice so weak. It breaks my heart to see her like this. What should I do? Would some tea help? A hot bath? Then an idea pops into my head: I could keep her warm.

I take off my T-shirt. I pick her up and take off her tank top as well. She is so beautiful it hurts me. She has no bra, her sweet rosy breasts and her hot flesh being totally exposed. I start breathing heavily. All I want to do is to make love to her, to touch her all over, cover all of her delicate skin with kisses. I grit my teeth and snap out of it. I need to move fast not to stare. I turn her so that her back is now facing me. I notice three ugly purple bruises, like some stains on her perfect honey skin that reminds me of hot summer days from when I was a kid. One is on her right shoulder, one under her left shoulder blade and the last one is fading under the waistband of her shorts, on her left hipbone. I am the reason she carries these bruises on her body. From all this training and pushing her to go further and further. And I hate myself for hurting her. But I know that she would hate me even more if I would go easy on her and treat her like she was made of porcelain. I place a kiss on the bruise from her shoulder and I can feel the heat radiating from her skin. She sighs slowly.

I cover us with the covers as I lay the both of us down, with her head propped on my right hand and my other hand placed across her abdomen, pulling her close to me, our skins touching. This way, my warmth will pass on to her body. I entangle our legs too, pulling her even closer into my embrace.

'Dimitri, so cold.' she is still chanting.

'Shhh, Roza. I am here.'

I put my head down on the pillow and her soft hair is tickling my face. But her smell, oh God, this one is making me dizzy. I take a deep breath and I am totally intoxicated.

I hold her tight, glued to my chest and start singing her an old lullaby in Russian that my mother used to sing to me when I couldn't sleep at night as a child. At some point, she stops shaking and falls asleep again.


	26. Bed rest Proving him wrong

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 25 - Bed rest. Proving him wrong**

I wake up. My throat is sore and my mouth dry. I feel like I ate sand and I can barely swallow. I think my fever has subsided, but I still feel very hot. Especially from behind. I try to turn around, but a hand strapped around my belly pulls me towards the source of the heat, and then I hear his voice, next to my ear:

'Shhh, Roza. It's okay. I'm here.' And then he starts humming the most beautiful melody I have ever heard. He is pulling me so hard towards him and it feels like our skins are going to melt into each other. I lose myself into his lullaby and I drift away.

The next time I wake up is because he is trying to pull his hand away from under my head slowly. I turn around and face him. He looks so sleepy. Cloudy eyes, his whole hair disheveled and his face has pillow marks on it. This view warms my chest to its core.

'Sorry I woke you up.'

'It's okay. I was actually awake for a while' I lie.

Then I get up, to sit straight.

'You might not want to...' But the damage is already done. The covers fell and I find myself topless in front of him. '...do that' he finishes. Then, his eyes glance fast down and then back up. Shit! I cover myself up.

'Oh my God.' I say as my cheeks turn pink.

'I'm sorry for that, but I had to find a way to keep you warm.' he says scratching his neck. I am too shocked to speak. I nod in response. 'Take this.' he hands me my tank top and I put it on. This thought crosses my mind: I have been in the same bed with him, naked. Naked! It is the second time I wake up into his bed without remembering how I got there. How do I keep getting into this kind of situations?

I get out of the bed.

'What are you doing?'

'I'm, um, I guess that I am going home. I troubled you enough. Again. Thank you.'

'Rose, get back into the bed.'

'No, really. My fever is gone. I feel better now and I should go.'

He rose up and crossed his arms. 'Rose. Back to bed. Now.' I complied.

'You are so bossy, you know?'

He smiled. 'Wait here.'

Later, he brought me tea. Mint tea with lemons and lots of honey for my throat. And soup. He made me chicken soup, just like my mother would make when I was little. Man, I really missed those days, when she really seemed to care about me.

Doctor Belikov assigned me to at least three days of bed rest. He said that the symptoms could come back worse if I didn't take care. He even took some free days from work so that he could supervise me. And I swear to God that those three days were the most boring days of my life. The fact that Dimitri wasn't coming into the room except for the times he was bringing me food or something didn't help at all. He said that I should rest, and I couldn't be bothered. I got so bored that I started reading one of his cowboy books that I found on the nightstand. I won't lie, the book was really interesting. And I could now understand better why he enjoyed them.

After those three days of vegetating in his bed, I was finally allowed to get back to my place.

* * *

The morning after my release, I was waiting for Dimitri to get out of his apartment for our morning run. I wasn't going to give up on that. He was so shook to see me standing there.

'What are you doing here?'

'Waiting for you, it seems. You are _two_ _minutes_ late, comrade.' I said with a disappointed tone.

'You are not going anywhere.'

'Why not?'

'Because you still need recovery from-'

'No, I don't.' I cut him off. 'Look, I didn't have a near-death experience or something like this. I just got a little sick. And I was in bed for three days, which is more than enough.' He frowned. 'You know, I can run on my own as well. I don't have to ask for your permission. So it is totally your choice.'

I swear I saw him roll his eyes. 'Fine, let's go. But take it easy, okay?'

I _so_ didn't take it easy that day. But it was totally worth it. I was with only five seconds behind from the last time I pulled out when I lastly ran. And that little thing made my day.

On our way back, I told him: 'I am officially asking for three days in addition to our deal. _You_ made me sit in bed.'

'Of course. You can ask for as many days as you need.'

'Nope, comrade. A deal is a deal. I said I'd do it in a month. It is getting done in a month.'

* * *

Almost another two weeks passed with the same schedule as the other previous two. It was the second of December. The penultimate day from our deal. Yesterday, as I was running on myself, I finished my 10 km in 32 minutes and 15 seconds. So I was very sure that I could do it again today. Of course, I knew I already beat his record. But I had to prove it to him as well. I couldn't wait to see his smug face drop.

After the run this morning, I told him:

'So, where is my kiss?'

'What kiss?'

'The one you owe me.'

'For what?'

'For beating your time, of course. You doubted me, and I proved you wrong. Has temporary amnesia come to visit you today or something?'

'But you didn't.'

He was fucking with me, I was sure.

'Give that to me.' I took the chronometer from him and saw: 32 minutes and 17 seconds. I was so pissed that I left. 'See you tomorrow. I still have a day left.'

On the third of December, I ran like hell. I even imagined that behind me was a maniac chasing me with a knife. And it worked. Because my time was 32 minutes and 10 seconds. Ha! A six seconds difference. I practically threw the chronometer at him.

'See? I did it. And it didn't take me three months.'

'Congratulations, Rose.' He seemed sincerely happy for me. 'So, where is it going to be?'

'What?'

'The kiss.'

'I don't want it.' He had a confused expression. 'I won't make you kiss me if you don't really want to, comrade. And anyway, proving you wrong was _so_ much satisfying.' I played the I-don't-care card. But deep down I wished that he would tell me that he wanted to kiss me. But he didn't.


	27. 20 questions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 26 - 20 questions**

The same day, around seven or so, I am bored out of my mind. As my mission is complete, I don't see the point of running in the evening. So I think about watching the stars. In my mind comes the roof. The last time I was there, I didn't feel like admiring too much. So I go to Dimitri and ask him if he could let me go there. He hands me a set of his spare keys.

'You are free to join if you want.' I told him as I head outside.

 **DPOV:**

I told her that I didn't know if I could make it. I had some paperwork to deal with. I shouldn't go. It isn't fair towards her to give her false hope. I know what she said to me that night when she was drunk. But I shouldn't reciprocate her feelings. I can't. Or should I? This is wrong. But there is something that is pulling me towards her. She is just like the sun, making you gravitate around her. And I just can't help it.

Before I go outside, I make two cups of cocoa. When I open the roof door, her head turns my way and her face lights up.

'You made hot chocolate.'

I take a seat and hand her a cup. She smells it and takes a sip. 'It is delicious. Thank you.' and gives me a big smile.

'Hey, do you want to play a game? I used to play it with Lissa, my best friend back home. It's called 20 questions. Are you in?'

'Fine.'

'I go first. Why is a divorce so expensive?'

'I don't know.'

'Because it's worth it.' she says and bursts into laughter.

'Is this how the game is supposed to go? Asking silly questions? Aren't you just wasting questions?'

'Yup. You can ask any question you want, and take it as personal as you like. And you just ask randomly, when a question pops into your head, until you finish all your twenty. And the other person has to respond, that's mandatory. And you have to be honest. Pretend you are drunk, it is easier that way, trust me. And about wasting questions, you just threw out the window three of them. Okay, now I am going to be serious. My second question is: Why did they put Minnie Mouse into the nut house?'

I smile. If she is going to go on with questions like this...'I don't know.'

'Because she was fucking Goofy. Do you get it?' At that I scowl, but I want to laugh.

'Language, Rose.' I hated when such dirty words got out of her beautiful mouth.

'Oh, you are no fun. Fine, I promise I will behave. Scout's honor.'

'You have been a Scouts Girl?'

'Nah, too much hassle. And I never really liked those girls. Too much drama. My turn now. Where do you come from?'

'Baia. It's a town about 7 hours away if you take the car.'

'Why didn't you go back home after you quit? Why did you quit? You didn't want to tell me last time I asked. Now you _have_ to.' she said, proud of herself.

'I didn't want to bother them. I wanted to make a living on my own. And I'm still not telling you.'

'That's not fair.' she stood there for a second, considering things. 'Do you love your family?'

'Yes. I would do anything for them.' And for you. I would do anything for you too.

'You don't have to answer this if you don't feel like it. But I saw a photo in your room the other day. With your family. You all look the same, so beautiful. But I didn't see your father. Is he, you know, dead?'

'No, he's not dead. He left.'

'Why?'

'Because he used to like to hit my mother. And as I grew up, I liked to hit him.'

'Recently?'

'No. When I was 13.'

'Are you _kidding_ me, right?'

'No.'

'I'm sorry for that.'

'Don't be. He deserved it.'

'Yeah, maybe. But he is still your father. I may not have a great relationship with my mother, but I still care for her.' She seemed sad while talking about her mother. Then she changed the subject.

'Why aren't you asking me anything? Come on, shoot. Say something.'

'How it comes that you have no plant in your apartment?'

'What kind of question is this?'

'It's my question. I have seen that you study Botany. I thought you liked plants. But you don't own any.'

'So observant, comrade. You are right, I don't. I used to though. But they all died. And I gave up on trying. It all began with Pablo.'

'Who is Pablo?'

'Was. Pablo was my cactus.'

'You named your cactus?'

'I was only six. And managed to kill a cactus, that one plant needs the least care you have to give. Funny, right? Then I had Alejandro, a basil plant at twelve. And my last victim was Manuel, another cactus at 15. I am a plant killer.' At that I really laughed.

'You don't do that too often, you know?' No, I didn't. But lately she was the only one who could make me smile.

'What is your favorite color? What color makes your heart light up when you see it, Dimitri? Mine is green. It is always reminding me of life and nature.'

The color of your beautiful eyes. They look like someone poured pure gold into a sea of chocolate. I could look into your eyes for the rest of my life. But to her, I said: 'I believe every color has the power to light up someone's heart at some point.'

 _'Bullshit_. You know what? You never really tell me things about you. You always give me short answers and with no substance. You tell me something but in fact you are telling me nothing at all. I asked you where you are from. You told me Baia. Yeah, it's a city, but you didn't _really_ tell me something about it, you get it? About why you quit, okay, maybe I took it too far. I asked you about your family. And all you gave me were responses without essence. You didn't actually tell me something about your family. Except the part about your father. I don't really know a lot of things about you. Why are you keeping away from me? In fact you seem to keep away from anybody. Isn't it hard? Why aren't you letting people in?' Because I am afraid that I will lose them, that's why. It is easier that way. 'And then you come and do so many kind things for me. You are so good to people, why don't you let other people be good with you?'

She exhales deeply and rises. 'I am going to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me, because this is _not_ about you it is about me. I am really nervous about this. Oh, God. I am ashamed to ask you this.' She starts to pass her hand through her hair and her movements mesmerize me. She is so beautiful. No makeup or anything needed. She is splendid and she isn't aware of it. What if I would let her in?

'Rose, say it.'

She takes a deep breath and avoids eye contact. 'You know, the night when I got drunk, I, I can't...Oh God. Okay. I am just going to say it. Did we have sex that night? I need to know because I woke up with your T-shirt on and in your bed, and that thing with that guy happened (her thinking that he was me in fact?) and everything that I don't remember after getting into Ivan's car (so she doesn't remember telling me all those things).'

'No Rose, we didn't do anything. It's not in my nature to take advantage of women. Do you think I could that to you?' But only God knows how much I want you right now.

She sighed relieved. 'No, I don't think that. I should have known you better.' She laughs. 'You and your cowboy moral code.'

I can't help it anymore. I raise and I ask her: 'You know what that moral code says next?' She shakes her head no. 'Always pay your debts.'

I get closer to her, put my hands on her cheeks and pull her closer, and closer, until our lips meet.


	28. First kiss Just friends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 27 - First kiss. Just friends**

He took me by surprise. But when our lips touched, everything in the world felt just right. His lips were so soft and his breath was warm and his hand getting in my hair felt like heaven. At first, the kiss was slow, our lips barely touching, like they were getting to know each other. Then, it turned into something more primal. He began sucking and biting by bottom lip with his teeth. He scooped me up, my legs wrapping around his waist. I gently traced my way up to his neck, untying his hair and passing my hands through it. It was so smooth. And we were so close that his smell was deeply filling my lungs. I felt like I was high on drugs. No, this was a lot better. He walked toward the wall, my back touching the hard rock now. His tongue invaded my mouth and at the same time, his hands found their way under my blouse. He started tracing his way down with his mouth, kissing and sucking my neck. This was such a pure pleasure. And I moaned loudly.

He suddenly stopped and just stared at me. He put me down. His face was a mask of pure shock.

'Did I do something?' I was very confused and still breathing heavily. He shakes his head no. Then what? What happened? One moment we were kissing and touching all over, and the other he is looking at me like I am a fierce animal ready to attack.

He rubbed his eyes, and then pressed his temples. 'Rose, I am so sorry. This was totally out of line. I shouldn't have done that.'

'No, it's okay, Dimitri. I don't-'

'No! No, Rose, it's not. This thing was wrong from me to do. So wrong. This was a mistake. I shouldn't have acted like this. It won't happen again. I promise.'

I am at a loss for words. What can I say to him? What does all of this even mean? Wrong? A mistake? It won't happen again. Why was he acting like this? I didn't even get the chance to open my mouth, because he has already left.

I feel dirty. Rejected. Empty. Was this my fault? Why was his mood changing like that? He is hot then suddenly he turns iceberg cold for no reason. I never seem to understand him. Why _is_ he like this?

I get to my door. My hands are shaking. I am so fucking furious right now. Can't he act like a fucking _normal_ human being?

I reach my hand in my pocket to grab my key. But I stumble upon his keys too. I enter and lean on the door. I am looking at Dimitri's keys shine into the faint light, trying to make sense of what just happened. Fuck him! And fuck all of this shit! I throw the keys away hard and they fall somewhere with a thud. I get to my room, already crying uncontrollably.

* * *

Two weeks pass and we don't bump into each other. Bump is exaggerated. I know that we are both doing our best at avoiding each other. And the truth is that this whole thing still hurts. I still can feel his rejection. I still remember the look he gave me. The hurting never really goes away. Everything I do, it is constantly there, like a background noise. I still can't understand what happened. But right now I am busy with my finals and this is helping tremendously, even though my mind sometimes slips to that night's events.

I sometimes look out the window at the usual hour he comes from work, just so that I can see him, even for a couple of seconds. I miss so much spending time with him. I even miss our quarrels and teases. Today he comes from the market, carrying two bags in his hands. He is all dressed in black and the usual duster is on. His hair is tied, only one thin strand laying on his right side. Sometimes I wonder how it would be if he looked up. But even if he would, he wouldn't be able to see me, because I am hiding between the drapes.

Things cannot go on like this forever, I decide. I have to talk with him and sort thing out. Things can't end like this. We have ignored each other enough. He doesn't want me; he made that pretty clear that evening. Fine. But can't we at least be friends?

I open the door as he reaches the last stair. He sees me, and his expression changes, but I can't quite read it. His face seems peaky and tired. Maybe mine does too. I can't really eat these days.

'Hi.' I say from the frame of the door.

'Hello, Rose.' he sounds tired too.

Should I speak? Should I get back inside? I go with the first thought. Here we go. I take a deep breath and say:

'Look, about what happened. Can we forget it somehow? I mean, it was stupid from me to ask for what I asked. And things degenerated that day. Do you think we could go back to how things were before that? And, just be friends? No strings attached.'

It took him a moment to respond. 'I'd like that.'

I smiled weakly. 'Then I guess I'll see you around.' He nodded in response.

I preferred to have him as a friend than not to have him at all.


	29. Trip to his family

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

I come up with some playlists that the both of them would listen to on the road. Hope you will enjoy them. :)

 **Rose's playlist:**

The Weeknd - Acquainted, Appointment, Dark times, I'm good, Long for you, Montreal, Pretty, Prisoner, Shameless, Gone, Party monster, The morning, Valerie, Thought I knew you (& Nicki Minaj), What you need

Beyonce - All night, Drunk in love, Partition, Formation, Don't hurt yourself, Freedom, SUMMER (the Carters)

Taylor Swift - Blank space, Getaway car, Gorgeous, I know places

HAIM -The wire, My song 5

Ariana Grande - Botherline, Breathin, Everytime

Disclosure - F for you

Kavinsky - Nightcall

Zayn - Tio, Wrong, She, Drunk, Befour, Bordersz, Like I would, She, Too much

The Acid - Ghost

Darren Hayes - Insatiable

Frank Ocean - Swim good, Lost, Pink matter

Lorde - Buzzcut season, Homemade dynamite, Million Dollar Bill, Tennis court

Childish Gambino - Redbone(70s remix)

Nine Inch Nails - The hand that feeds

The Kooks - Bad habit

The Neighbourhood - Daddy issues, Flawless

Sam Smith - Baby you make me crazy, Latch, Omen, Promises, Nirvana, Say it first

Blue Oyster Cult - Burnin for you

Bach - Marcello

Tinashe, Snakehips - All my friends

 **Dimitri's playlist:**

Alannah Myles - Black velvet

Buggles - Radio killed the radio star

Eurythmics - Sweet dreams

a-ha - Take on me

Bon Jovi - Livin' on a prayer

Phil Collins - In the air tonight, Another day in Paradise

George Michael - Careless whisper, Father figure

Olivia Newton-John - Physical

Daryl Hall & John Oates - Maneater

Flashdance - Maniac

Stevie Wonder - I just called to say I love you

Bryan Adams - Heaven

Cutting Crew - Died in your arms tonight

UB40 - Red Red Wine, Kingston Town, Falling in love with you

Dead or Alive - You spin me round

Foreigner - I want to know what love is

Nena - 99 Luftballons

Blondie - Call me

Cameo - Word up

Falco - Rock me Amadeus

Paul Anka - Put your head on my shoulder

Terence Trent D'Arby - Sign your name

Chris Isaak - Blue hotel

Alphaville - Forever young

Prince - Purple rain

* * *

 **CHAPTER 28 - Trip to his family**

It was the last week from my first semester, just before winter break. My finals were over, and everybody was thinking about the holidays. I resumed my daily workouts with Dimitri and everything seemed to work out very well. It was a little awkward at first, but now we were good.

He was going to visit his family for the holidays, having to leave on the 23rd, in the morning, while I, on the other hand, was going to remain there, alone. My parents decided that since I was gone, they could spend their holidays in Hawaii. Good for them. I wasn't able to go to Lissa either, because Christian made her an early present, taking her to Berlin.

I guess that I could go to some parties thrown by my classmates and some other people I knew around campus. But I didn't really think I would have fun. Firstly, in my opinion, Christmas is all about family. I wasn't in such a good relationship with my parents, but usually, at this time of the year we were getting along quite well. Maybe it was something about the Christmas spirit. Secondly, this is how things worked with me: I was very outgoing and I was able to make myself liked by others. People were somehow attracted by me. But this thing didn't work the other way around. I didn't like anyone easily. And last, all the people I knew, about a dozen, were in fact morons. All they did all day long was drinking and partying, and then they were asking themselves why they couldn't pass some exam. Yeah, I get the fact that it was fun. But for how long?

I didn't even bother with decorating. I couldn't see the point of that. Nobody was going to enjoy it anyway. My house was just like Scrooge's. The only thing I had to do was to lie in my bed and wait for the ghosts to take me to watch my sad and crappy future Christmases. I was feeling bad and lonely. So my thoughts weren't as happy and positive as they usually are.

I was in my room, listening to 'Blue Christmas' when Dimitri knocked at my door.

'Hey comrade. I hope the music isn't too loud.'

'No, it's not that. I have something to ask you.' his voice sounded grave. Was something wrong?

'Go. Shoot.'

'I was wondering if you would like to come with me to my family's house for the holidays. I would feel bad for letting you here alone. In addition, on holidays, my family's motto is ''the more the merrier'' so why wouldn't you come along?'

'Really?'

'Yeah, why not?'

'I'd love that, Dimitri.' I said hugging him. 'I'll go pack my things.'

* * *

The next morning, we left. I didn't know Dimitri had a car. He rarely used it, preferring to walk instead. It was a black Jeep Renegade, perfectly clean, and if you would breathe in deeply, you could still feel the smell of newness.

After arguing on who was going to put music, we managed to compromise on listening alternatively to one's music for an hour. I always thought that '80 music was boring. Well, in fact, the '80 music my dad listened to sucked. The one Dimitri had was so damn good. What can I say, he had good taste in music. On the other hand, he scowled every time one of the verses from one of my songs had a swear word in it. It was kind of funny to watch, in fact.

'This is where you took that bad language of yours.'

'Yeah, maybe. But a girl has to express herself someway, you know?'

'Yeah, and you express yourself more than anyone I know.'

* * *

For the most of our road we were silent. We didn't really have any subjects to discuss. But the silence between us wasn't one that made you feel awkward. It was that type of silence that assured you that you don't really need words to understand each other. We did have some conversations along the way too.

* * *

'What if your family doesn't like me?'

'Don't worry. They will like you.'

'How can you be sure? What if they think I am a bad influence on you?' at this, he laughed.

* * *

'How is your family? I mean, I know they are good people. But aside from that, how are they like?'

We were now at a gas station. He pulled out his wallet and showed me some pictures.

'These are my sisters, Karolina my oldest sister, Sonja the second in line, and she is Viktoria, the youngest of us. I think that you two will really get along. The two of you are so alike.' He changed the photo. 'This is Paul, my nephew.'

'He is such a sweetie. How old is he?'

'Ten.'

Another photo, one in which he appeared too. It probably was made at one of their family's reunions. They all looked so happy. And the resemblance between them was striking. In this photo was a beautiful woman too, probably in her 40's. Dimitri looked so much like her.

'This is my mother. She likes flowers a lot too. You and her should get along just fine' he said pointing to the woman I observed earlier. 'And this is my babushka.'

'You have such a nice family. I really hope they like me. I don't want to intrude somehow.'

'Trust me Rose, it will be alright.'

I hoped it will.

* * *

'This is so awesome! My parents never let me get my head out of the car. Ah, the breeze. It feels so good.' I say as I hold my hand out.

'Here, try this. Get your hand out. Face your palm down, and start making waves with it.'

It felt amazing. Like flying somehow. The air was opposing to the movement of your hand, sending it up and down.

'This is soooo fun.' I squealed.

* * *

'You know what's funny?'

'Huh?'

'I have been here for four months and I haven't gotten to see the Red Square. And I always dreamed of visiting Saint Basil's Cathedral. My mother used to have a snow globe with it, and I always admired the roof. It is so colorful that you can't take your eyes off it.'

'There's still time, Rose.'

'Yeah, that's what I tell myself every day.'

* * *

'Are you sure you aren't tired?'

'Yes, Rose. I take this trip at least six times a year. I am used with it.'

'You could always let me drive.'

'You have a license?'

'No.'

'Do you even know how to drive?'

'Of course I do. When I was little I was winning race after race against all the boys in my neighborhood at Need for Speed. I had the highest scores from all of my friends. How different can it be?' I asked bursting into laughter.

* * *

'Is that a police car? Why is that man pulling you over?'

'Maybe a routine check.'

'Someone is a baaaad boy. You broke the law comrade. I've seen it. There was a speed limit of 50km/h. And you went with 60. They are after your ass. But wait, what am I going to do if they take you to jail? Maybe I should try to seduce one of the officers to take me home. What do you say about that?' I teased.

'Rose, just shut up and give me your I.D.' he said with an exasperated face. My mouth just couldn't stay closed, it wasn't my fault.

* * *

'I don't think I'll ever get bored of this view.' I say, as Dimitri drives through some serpentines. 'It looks magical with all this snow covering all these pines.'

'I know. It's my favorite part of the whole ride home.'

'Oh, comrade, let's not forget about those two reindeers banging. A true miracle of the nature, don't you think so?'

* * *

'Dimitri, I can't believe this.'

'What?'

'I have no presents. Oh my God, I am so stupid. How could have I forgotten? Your family is going to welcome me into their house, and I simply come empty-handed.'

'Rose, calm down. I didn't take you with me so that you would bring presents to my family.'

'But I feel bad. I am going to be such a bad guest. I'm going to make a bad first impression. You know that that counts the most.'

'For me it didn't.' he said. 'And anyway, there is nothing you can do now. We arrived.' he continued as he pulled the car into the alley of a small house. I could feel the warmth radiating from it. It was filled with Christmas lights and it seemed so animated. Also, it looked like it recently snowed. That was everything the scenery needed.


	30. The Belikovs

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 29 - The Belikovs**

We were there. I could feel the cold sweat on my back. Why was I so nervous? Because this was the first time Dimitri was showing me a part of him. And it was one part of him that was so important to him. Every time he talked about his family, he only had loving and caring words for them. I didn't want to fuck up something.

Somewhere on the left side of the house, a head popped at the window. It was a kid. Maybe Paul. As we got out of the car, the front door opened and the little kid was there. Then, he turned his head and roared something in Russian. The only words I could distinguish were ''дядя'', the equivalent for uncle from what I remembered, and ''Dimka''. Dimka? Was this Dimitri's nickname? It sounded sweet.

In exactly 3 seconds, everybody was out of the house, ready to welcome us. It was such a beautiful sight. We went closer, and I could feel my palms begin to sweat.

'Dimka, you didn't tell us you were bringing your girlfriend over. We would have prepared somehow. How could you?' this was Viktoria speaking, as she was punching her brother's arm. She was standing out from the crowd. Yeah, she had all the common features of the Belikov family, but her personality was visible from a distance. She had purple streaks covering her hair, was dressed a little different than everybody, and her attitude was so I-don't-care style. Dimitri was right; I may get along with his youngest sister.

I spoke quickly: 'Oh, no. We are not a couple. We are just friends.' and it hurt me to say those words. Viktoria looked at me, throwing a look that said I-don't-believe-your-shit-but-fine-I-will-let-it-pass.

'This is Rose. She is my neighbor back in Moscow.'

'Hello!' was the only thing my mind could manage to pull out.

One by one, all Belikov women hugged Dimitri and told him something in Russian. Then, to my utter surprise, I got the same treatment. Olena, Dimitri's mother, welcomed me into their house and told me that she was glad one of Dimitri's friends was there.

When it was Viktoria's turn, after she hugged me fiercely, she told me: 'I am happy that you are here. You know, every _friend_ of Dimitri's is part of the family. And I think I like you. Maybe the two of us would get along.'

'I hope that too.' I responded.

Then she turned around and said: 'You know what мама, now we have two more persons who can help us decorate for Sunday's party. Isn't that nice?' What party? Why didn't Dimitri tell me about that? I haven't packed anything special. Not a single dress. I am going to murder him in his sleep.

When it was Yeva's turn, Dimitri's grandmother, she hugged him, and while she passed in front of me, she gave me the stink eye and murmured something in Russian. It seems that this woman doesn't like me. I knew that something was going to go bad. But after she left, Viktoria pulled me away and told me: 'Don't worry about her. She acts crazy all the time. And she has all these witch things going on. It's better to ignore her. It totally works for me. Oh, and don't let her fool you. She _knows_ English.'

As I was an unexpected visitor, the Belikov family decided to let me sleep with Viktoria, in her room. I didn't mind at all. That girl had something that made you love her instantly.

* * *

The next day, Viktoria pulled me out of bed around 6 a.m.

'Come on, we have so much work to do!'

And we really did. We helped Olena into the kitchen, cutting vegetables and washing dishes and setting plates, just to make her work easier. Then, we helped Dimitri set up the tree into the living room. The last thing Viktoria and I had to do was to set up some more lights on the porch.

I got up a ladder and started hanging the lights that Viktoria would hand me.

'Rose, I have an idea. Stay right here, I'll be right back.' and she went back inside.

I remained up the ladder. But there was one thing that wasn't right with a little bulb. So I reached up, trying to move it in the hopes that it will light up. That's when I slipped. I expected to hit the rough alley. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists. But I didn't. Strong hands were now around me, pulling me into a hard chest. Dimitri. I opened my eyes and stared into his. We were just staying there, staring at each other, the air beginning to thicken.

Someone coughed. 'Hi, _friends_ _._ ' it was Viktoria. Dimitri put me down in a second. Well, this was embarrassing. 'What happened?'

'I, I fell off the ladder.'

'Oh my God, are you alright?' I nodded. 'Thank God Dimka was here to rescue you.' Yeah, thank God.

The day ended without any other embarrassing events.

* * *

It was the day of the gathering, the 25th.

'Vika?'

'Huh?' she asked as she was picking out a dress from her closet.

'Is it going to be okay if I don't come to this little gathering?'

'Why wouldn't you? And what would you be doing all evening?'

'I'll stay in your room or something like that. I have nothing to dress up with. Dimitri didn't mention anything about any party. All I have is a couple of pants and shirts.'

'Oh, Rose, don't be stupid. My closet is your closet. Wait here. I, in fact, have the perfect dress for you.'


	31. Christmas day Dance with me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

I have a treaaaat! I am going to put a link that is going to take you to see Rose's look.

The dress: images/g/gd8AAOSwX1la4~ (put thin into your search engine and go to the images section; it should work; I don't get why the links get messed up)

* * *

 **CHAPTER 30 - Christmas day. Dance with me**

About two hours later, Vika and I were ready. She was wearing a plum-purple dress, with a low cut and a split on her left leg. She looked so pretty and I told her that.

'Well, it's his favorite color, you know?' she said dreamily.

'Whose favorite color?'

'No one's.'

'Viktoria?'

'Fine. I'll tell you but you have to promise you won't tell anybody. _Ever_.'

'Okay, I promise.'

'Since I was little, I have a crush on Dimka's best friend.'

 _'Ivan_? You have a crush on _Ivan_?' Well, it was pretty understandable. He wasn't someone you could easily ignore.

'Shhhh! Not that loud. Someone could hear you.'

'Oh, shit, Sorry. It's okay. Your secret is safe with me.'

Dimitri's seventeen years old sister had a crush on Ivan. It was funny, because my situation was pretty the same. I wonder what Dimitri would do if he would ever find out.

'But let's leave that now. I might be pretty, but you Rose, you are stunning. Every man here is going to dribble when they will see you, trust me.'

I can't say I didn't like what Vika has done to my look. She borrowed me a long sleeved midi dark-green velvet dress, with a V-neck that was contouring my cleavage, not too much, just enough. The waist was encircled with a thin golden belt. I was wearing some golden high-heeled sandals that were completing the look. My hair was braided into a double dutch braid, ending at the nape of my neck with a messy bun. I didn't use much makeup, only some light brown eye shadow, some mascara and a nude lipstick. I was looking pretty nice.

We finally got out of the room because the dinner was going to begin soon. As I was waiting for Viktoria to pick up something she forgot, I turned away facing the left side of the hallway. From a door that way, Dimitri exited his room. I was about to fall down on the floor. He was so handsome. He was wearing some navy-blue suit pants with a perfectly white shirt tucked in, the sleeves rolled up and two buttons unbuttoned, revealing a little part of his chest. His hair was perfectly tied back into a low ponytail. And as he was coming my way, I was simply enchanted. He stopped in front of me, and looked at me head to toe.

'Well, big brother, isn't your _friend_ pretty?' this was Viktoria. She was making her entrance at the worst times possible.

He nodded. Looked at me one more time and gulped. 'Yes, you are beautiful, Roza.' Then he blinked a few times, turned around and walked away fast.

We headed downstairs as well. And the place was crowded with people.

'Wow, Vika. These are a lot of people.'

'Yeah, but tradition is tradition. Our family invites every person we care about and we spend the first day of Christmas together. It's nice to be around all these people. They are all family to us.'

'Yeah, it really is nice.'

'You know what? You are the only girl Dimka brought here, beside his childhood friends. They don't count. That's why I thought you were his girlfriend. He is kind of reserved when it comes to his personal life, you know?' Yeah, I knew. But hearing the fact that I was one of the few persons he brought here warmed my heart. That meant he would trust me enough to let me see the real him one day?

* * *

We spent some time talking with some people whose names I couldn't manage to remember. But they were nice people. Then it was time for dinner, and we sat down. I was sitting next to Viktoria, who I was following everywhere because I didn't want to be left alone. She managed somehow to find a seat next to Ivan and started speaking with him, completely ignoring me. On my left was Paul and his mother, Karolina. And across the table, facing me, was Dimitri. And the person seated next to him was shooting me nasty glances. Of course, I am talking about Yeva. I swear, that woman gave me the chills.

The dinner passed without much fuss. And the food was wonderful. Olena was an amazing cook. The only thing I couldn't understand was why Yeva was continuously pouring shot after shot of vodka down Dimitri's throat. She was so obviously forcing him to drink them. And he didn't even utter a single word. I counted at least five shots before Vika took me back to the living room.

There, some people were dancing, some of them were sitting on the sofa and talking, and others were standing and drinking something. We went next to the fireplace and found a wall to lean on. After a while, Viktoria left me alone, having something to do: following Ivan everywhere. On the fireplace were a lot of photos. I started looking at each other out of boredom. A photo with Karolina pregnant. Photos with kids on their first day of school with big backpacks in their hands and smiles plastered to their faces. Dimitri was such a cute kid. A photo of baby Paul. A photo of Olena with someone I guessed that could be her husband. They looked happy. And there, in the back, was a frame with two photos of Dimitri. One was with him dressed into a green-army suit. He looked so young. His hair was short. So unusual for me. But he still looked so good. The photo was taken from below. And he was smiling. His damn beautiful smile. 'That's from his time at the Military School. He was only sixteen then.' Olena said from behind me. 'And the other one is from his graduation, at twenty.' she said proudly. In this one, he was more serious. He wasn't looking at the camera. And he was wearing a beautiful navy-blue suit and a peaked cap. But then, sadness filled Olena's eyes and she left. Was she sad because her son quit? I really had to find out what determined him to do so.

* * *

Everybody was having a great time, and I was glad I was there in that second. It was one of the very few moments in my life when I really felt that I belonged somewhere.

Karolina took me with her and we danced a little together on a lilt song. But then that song ended and a slower one took its place. We parted and waited for another song.

'Would you make me the pleasure of dancing with me?' someone said behind me. I turned, and there he was, looking at me like I was the only person that existed into that room.

'I'd love to.' I responded. What could go wrong? We were just two friends dancing.


	32. Another kiss The greenhouse

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

The song Dimitri and Rose dance to is called ''Wild love'' from James Bay. I choose the acoustic version because it is slower.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 31 - Another kiss. The greenhouse**

He takes my left hand into his, puts his right one on my hip, and drags me closer. We are a few millimeters apart. This feels so right. We start dancing slowly, and I put my head on his chest and close my eyes. I hope that this song never ends. I breathe in deeply to feel his scent and instead I smell the vodka. I raise my head and look him in the eyes.

'Are you drunk, Dimitri?' I don't want him to do things just because of that. I want him to want me without having to be drunk.

He smiles. 'Just a little lightheaded.' Yeah, that is what is worrying me. Would he be dancing with me now if his grandmother hadn't poured all that vodka down his throat? Sadly, I know the answer. No.

Soon, the song comes to an end. I am all flushed from our closeness and I need some air. Being so close to him does crazy things to me. We pull apart and look at each other. It is pretty awkward that no one is saying anything. Out of nowhere, Viktoria is there, next to us. Thank God, she is going to take me out of there. But what she says next is _not_ what I expected:

 _'Guys_ , I think you should look up.' We do look up. There, stuck to the ceiling above us, is a mistletoe with a red little bow. 'You know what that means, _no_?' she asks. Yes of course I know what that means, I am not stupid. But _she_ has no fucking idea what would mean if he would kiss me again. I shoot her a hard glance, signaling her to shut up. But she doesn't. Smiling, she says in Russian: 'поцелуй'. This could only be the Russian word for kiss, I suppose. Some people cheer up and others join in, saying the same word over and over again. I look at Dimitri.

'You don't have to do this.'

'But I want to.' he says and leans over, places his hands on my cheeks and plants a sweet kiss on my lips. I quickly remain breathless and my palms extend into the air. God, how much I missed this feeling. Then, his tongue breaks in, meeting mine. I sigh quietly in pleasure. People start cheering loudly. I pull away. Everybody was watching us. Somewhere in the back, I spot his mother and his other two sisters. I feel so ashamed. The only thing I can do is say sorry and run outside.

* * *

The closest door that leads outside is the backdoor. I get out, arriving into the garden and I spot a greenhouse. Maybe if I get inside no one will find me. I enter and shout angry: 'Motherfucker!' I felt like punching something, but I restrained myself. I don't want to break anything.

'Hey, watch your language, young girl! That's my grandson you are talking about!'

I squeal and turn around to see Yeva, standing on a little bench, at the center of the greenhouse.

'God, you scared me, Madam. I'm sorry.' I say embarrassed. 'I'll leave you alone.'

'No. Come here. Sit.' wow, she is talking with me. In fact she is giving me orders, but at least she was not giving me the evil eye and mumbling things. I comply and sit on a bench facing her.

'I didn't like you when you came here.' wow, right to the point.

'Yeah, I could figure that.'

'Don't interrupt me!'

'Sorry. Please, go on.'

'As I was saying, I didn't like you at first. I haven't made my mind yet, but you seem nice. I dreamt about you arrival: I have seen Dimitri carrying a rose around the house in my dreams.' Was this the witch thing Viktoria was talking about? 'I didn't realize that that would be your name. And you are way younger than I expected. But I guess that doesn't bother people anymore like it would do back in my day.' What was she talking about? 'But you don't seem to act like most people your age do.' At that, she paused. She was probably thinking about Viktoria. She was acting with her the same way she did with me. 'You seem more mature and you care about people around you. And you seem to fit in here, with us.' That was the most beautiful thing she ever told me. 'And I've seen the way he looks at you when you are not paying attention.' Does he really? 'He hasn't been himself for a long time. But when he came home two days ago, I could feel that he was finally better.'

'But what happened with him?'

'If he hasn't told you, I am not going to spill a word. It's his choice if he wants to tell you or not' God, this thing was frustrating. 'What did he do that made call you him like that earlier?' she changed the subject.

'He, um, he, kissed me.'

'And you didn't like it? Is he a bad kisser or something?' this woman was funny.

'No, it's not that. It's just the fact that he did it because he was drunk. In fact, I believe it's your fault. You are the one who made him empty five shots of vodka.'

'Eight, in fact. And all I did was to help him. A little alcohol shuts the mind and lets the heart speak, you know?' and with that being said, she got up and exited the greenhouse. What was she trying to say? That Dimitri wanted me with his heart but his mind wouldn't let him? Well, he had to make up his mind, then.

* * *

An hour later, I was still there, looking at the flowers. I wish I could have seen this place in spring. It must look spectacular. Dimitri was right; his mother surely did love flowers and took great care of them. I found some peonies sprouts. They were due to spring.

'These are my white ones.' someone said behind. It was Olena. I haven't noticed when she entered.

'I love peonies. Especially lavender ones. They are so beautiful.'

She smiled. 'Dimka told me you study Botany.'

'Yes, I do. It's a little passion of mine. Nature in general fascinates me.'

The next couple of minutes we just walked around and I admired her collection of plants.

'Madam, is that an oxalis?'

'Rose, call me Olena, please. And yes, that is an oxalis.'

'It's so beautiful. I've always wanted to see one since I found it in my textbook.'

We didn't really talk much about anything else but plants. But I could sense that she wasn't mad at me. She was in fact really nice to me. Wasn't she annoyed by the fact that I kissed her son earlier?


	33. The trip back Furious

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

In this chapter I am referring to the song 'Sign your name'' by Terence Trent D'Arby. It is sooo beautiful. I couldn't resist the urge to share it.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 32 - The trip back. Furious**

The next days passed, and Dimitri was again avoiding me. And every time I caught his eye, his face transformed into a guilty expression. He sure as hell should have felt guilty for giving me false hopes again. The fact is that I tried to stay away from him, and I was doing a pretty good job, and then _he_ came to me and kissed me. _He_ was the one not knowing what he really wants. If he couldn't make his mind, I was in no position to help. So I just simply let him be. I didn't give him much attention.

I spent my days with his sisters, usually talking or helping Olena cook something. I swear, that woman was cooking the best meals ever. I totally loved her black bread, and I could hardly stop eating it throughout the day. And she was always happy to bake some more each time I would come into the kitchen looking for more. She resembled so much the mother I had when I was young. I wished that my relationship with my mother wouldn't have turned into what it is today. But there are some things that you can't change.

In the evenings, I used to be Paul's play buddy, helping him build Lego castles or any other thing his imaginative mind would come up with. He was such a smart kid and so well behaved. It amused me that he adopted some of Dimitri's gestures, and he even told me that he wants to grow his hair. I guess with the fact that Dimitri was the only manly figure around the house, he took him as a role model. Well, that meant that Paul will grow up to be a wonderful man.

Celebrating New Year's Eve wasn't bad either. I began to love Dimitri's family like my own, and they seemed to accept me too. For the occasion, nobody bothered much. We made some food and some people came over, but it was nothing compared to the Christmas gathering. At midnight everybody said 'С Новым Годом!' (it took Vika three days to make me remember these words) and everything ended. Nothing spectacular.

* * *

On the second of January, we had to head back to Moscow. Everybody was sad to see us go. After kisses and hugs (even Yeva hugged me; I was in complete shock when this happened) Dimitri's mother wanted to give me a present. She baked me black bread for the road. I swear to God that that woman was too good with me. I didn't think I deserved all their love. But, that was not the true present. The true present was a little flower pot with an offset. It was a little oxalis.

After Viktoria promised to hunt me down if I won't come to visit, and after Olena simply stroked my cheek and told me 'Take care of him.' (I couldn't tell if she was referring to the little plant or Dimitri), Yeva came to me and pulled me down, so that my ear reached her mouth. The only thing she told me was: 'He's a good man. Be patient with him.'

And we were on our way back. We entered the car and he exited the alley as I was still waving my hand at his family.

* * *

'Would you like to put some music?'

Oh, so we were speaking now?

'No.'

'May I put some?'

'Suit yourself.' I was going to give him the silent treatment that he loved so much.

I didn't care. He may try to talk with me, but I was still pissed. Very pissed. The words of his grandmother kept popping into my head, but in that exact moment I couldn't be patient.

For some time we just listened to music. Then, ''Sign your name'' started. I was in no mood to listen to love songs.

 _Fortunately you have got  
Someone who relies on you  
We started out as friends  
But the thought of you just caves me in  
the symptoms are so deep  
It is much too late to turn away  
We started out as friends_

 _Sign you name  
Across my heart  
I want you to be my baby  
Sign your name  
Across my heart  
I want you to be my lady_

As I was listening, tears began to form in my eyes. I turned it off. He didn't say a single thing.

Another part of the road was made in silence.

Another five agonizing hours left.

I decided that I would better sleep than to think about all those things.

I woke up as we were at a gas station. He was inside, paying. Then he entered the car.

'You are awake.' I didn't respond.

'I took you some snacks.' I glanced over. Chips and M&M's. My favorites. And I was indeed hungry.

'I'm not hungry.' I said not even looking at him.

'Rose' he said exasperated.

I turned to face him. 'Yes, Dimitri?' a fake smile appearing on my face.

'Stop acting like a child.' I rolled my eyes so hard I thought I broke some muscle.

' _I, I_ am acting like a child? What about you _mister_ _maturity_ in person? What is called what you have been doing for the last _seven_ fucking days?'

'Language, Rose.'

'Oh, give me a break. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I can say that as many times I want, I don't need you permission. Now answer my question.'

'I don't know, okay?'

'Oh, he doesn't know. Let _me_ illuminate you then. You ignored me for the last seven days; pretended that I didn't exist for a whole week. It's okay, we have done that before for longer than that. But we were at your _family's_ _house_ , for fuck's sake, Dimitri. Do you have any idea how embarrassed I felt? They were all so, so, so nice to me. But I could feel the pity in their eyes.'

His face turned into a hurt expression. Perfect! Let him hurt a little. I did that a lot lately.

'But forget about that. We had a deal. Weren't we friends? What do you call what you did on the first day of Christmas? Okay, we danced. Friends do that. But why did you _kiss_ me? _Again_. Wasn't that _wrong_? Wasn't that a _mistake_ the first time you did it? Why repeat it?'

'I wasn't myself a back then, I had been drinking a little.'

'Yeah, you did. But I _told_ you _didn't_ have to do it. And what did you respond?'

'That I wanted to.' he whispered.

 _'What_?'

'I said that I wanted to.'

'So, when you are drunk you suddenly want to kiss me, and when you are sober that is a mistake. You know what? I think I'll just walk back home or find a cab or anything else. I can't be near you right now.' I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car, heading nowhere. I could only manage to make about five steps before he grabbed me.

'Let _go_ of me. I'm going to scream or something. I'll punch you.' And I really meant it.

'Do whatever you have to do Roza, but listen to me.' I was still struggling to get out of his grip, but I couldn't. 'I wanted to kiss you when I was drunk. I wanted to kiss you when I was sober too, on the roof. The problem is not that I _don't want_ to kiss you. The problem is that I want to kiss you every second.'

At that I stopped struggling and simply looked at him bewildered.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! I want to tell you that from tomorrow I will only post once a day, because I won't have so much time on my hands to edit the text. I tried to post as much as I could these days, but I won't be able to do so anymore.**

 **Btw, did you enjoy any of the songs I left out there? Tell me, I would love to know.**

 **Lots of love! :)**


	34. Let's go home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

Another beautiful song that I have to share with you: ''In the air tonight'' by Phil Collins.

Enjoy :)

* * *

 **CHAPTER 33 - Let's go home**

'So what are you waiting for then?'

He smiled, passed his hand through my hair, stopped when his hand got to the nape of my neck and pulled my face closer. 'I'm sorry for hurting you, Roza.' A tear fell down my cheek and he kissed it away. Then, his lips collided with mine. I could feel the saltiness on my tongue. I rose on my tippy toes and deepened the kiss. I bit his lower lip and he growled. When we pulled apart, we were both breathing heavily.

'Let's go home.' he said, taking my hand into his.

* * *

'It's too silent.'

'Put some music then.'

'My music?' he shook his shoulders in response.

'Why not?'

'Nah, I'm just teasing. I came to the conclusion that your music is acceptable. You don't suck as much as I thought.'

'Really?'

'Really, comrade.'

* * *

'I'm hungry.'

'You have your snacks on the backseat.'

'Oh, yeah, I forgot. You bought me M&M's.'

'Aren't those your favorites?'

'Yes, they are. You remembered that?'

'I remember everything about you Rose.'

* * *

'Your family is wonderful, you know?'

'Thank you.'

'They are all such nice people. I wish they could adopt me.'

'Don't say that. Is your family that bad?'

'I don't know. It's just I was never enough for them. Anything I did, they were never really satisfied. They always wanted more, and I understand that they want me to do better, but a ''good job Rose'' or maybe a ''we are proud of you'' from time to time wouldn't hurt. When I graduated, my father couldn't even make it and the moment I got off the stage, instead of hugging me or something, my mother began telling me about how my hair was messy and that the photos would look bad.'

'You are enough for me, Rose.' he said grabbing my hand and kissing the inside of my palm.

* * *

I had the little oxalis from Dimitri's mother in my hands and was grimacing.

'Are you trying to kill that plant with your stare?'

'Ha, ha, very funny. No, I am trying to find a proper name for it.'

'Are you going to name it?'

'Um, of course I am. I have named all my plants since I was six. That's tradition.'

'Is it a girl or a boy?'

'Hmmm. A boy.'

Some minutes passes. I was still thinking.

'I knooooow! Can you guess how I'm going to name him?'

'Carlos.'

'Why on Earth would I name it Carlos? It sounds like a Mexican drug dealer's name.'

'Your other plants had these Latino names. I thought you wanted to do the same with this one.'

'Nope. I'm going to call it Lil' Dimka.'

'Why?'

'Because I want to. Firstly, because it's so small. And because I liked how your family used to call you Dimka. It's a nice nickname.' I was really proud of my invention.

'You know, my mother never gave to anyone not even a single offspring .'

'Really? Why?'

'My father brought her that plant. About two weeks before I threw him out. I guess she cared too much about it and she didn't want to share it with anyone. It was the last present he ever gave to her.'

'Dimitri, I so love your mother.' Then I remembered something. 'Oh my God.'

'What happened?'

'Dimitri, I am a plant killer. I can't take care of Lil' Dimka. I'll end up killing him. And I can't kill him. He is so precious.'

'You won't kill him, Rose.'

'You can't know that. Not considering my criminal record.'

'Look. We'll take care of him together then. And he won't die. Okay?'

'Okay. I am relieved now.'

* * *

'Do you know what I found on your fireplace?'

'Photos I guess. That's where my mother is displaying them.'

'Yeah. But two photos in special.' he looks at me questioning. 'Somewhere in the back, on the left side. Two photos into a black frame, more exactly.'

'Oh, those photos.'

'Yes. And you were so young. Only sixteen. And you had your hair short. And you were smiling. You looked so cute. But in the other one you were so serious. Who upset you?'

'No one. I was in fact looking at Viktoria. She was climbing on a chair so that she could match my height and I was afraid she'd fall.'

'Always worrying. But you know what? You looked smoking hot in that uniform. I wish I could see you dressed in that uniform someday.'

* * *

It turned dark. I feel sleepy. The radio was playing ''In the air tonight''. It's a sad song. But one thing is true. It really feels that I have been waiting for this moment for all my life. For the moment he told me that all he wanted to was to kiss me every second. Even though I've met Dimitri about four months ago, no one ever made me feel the way he does. I turn to face him. He turns too and smiles before turning his attention back to driving. It feels unreal. I raise my hand and take it to the nape of his neck, under his hair and caress that area. He sighs.

'Is this bothering you?'

'No, I like it. It's so calming.'

So I keep running my hand through his hair until I fall asleep.

* * *

'I am soooo stiff from all of this sitting. And I totally shouldn't have fallen asleep. My back hurts.'' I say as we get out of the car.

Dimitri went to get out the bags. I went to take mine.

'I'll take it.'

'Ah, such a gentleman.' I said blinking rapidly for a few times and pretended to faint dramatically. At that, he laughed. I could never get tired of hearing his laughter.

We got upstairs and he handed me my bag.

I swing back and forth in front of my door. 'So I guess I'll see you tomorrow.'

He nods. 'Tomorrow.'

I gather a little courage. I rapidly get in front of him on my tippy toes and place a little kiss on his cheek. I say 'Goodnight!' and turn away to enter my apartment. As I am closing my door, I hear: 'Goodnight, Roza.'

I put my bag down and place Lil' Dimka on the table. I lean on the door and smile.

* * *

 **Someone asked how long the story is going to be. As I told you, the story is already done and it has a total of 55 chapters. I hope that is enough for you guys.**

 **And peggy, it is kind of a combination between the two of them. I thought about making it as dramatic as I could.**

 **Thank you all for your support, it means a lot to me.**

 **XOXO**


	35. Old New Year

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 34 - Old New Year**

He was making me so happy. We were spending almost every second of our free time together. We were still running together every morning and training in the afternoons. Then I would usually find something to do while I was waiting for him to get back from work. I started reading some books, not for school, but only for fun. And in the moments I wasn't studying I would concentrate on my new hobbies. I used to change them once every two or three days because I would get bored very fast. I tried origami, coloring, crocheting, some DIY, making puzzles, magic, sewing, and my list could only get longer as the days would pass. I wasn't very good at any of these things, but Dimitri kept on finding nice things to say about any ugly thing I made every day, and that only made me to keep on trying.

* * *

One day, after our morning run, he told me to prepare, because he was taking me into a trip.

'Uuuu. May I know where?'

'No. It's a surprise. But you'll have to dress with warm clothes.'

'Fine. When are you picking me up?'

'At four.'

I was ready and excited for our trip. I have always enjoyed travelling.

Our drive took almost 30 minutes. And when I saw where he pulled up his car I squealed like little seal.

'You brought me to the Red Square?'

'You told me you haven't been here since you moved. Plus, today is a special day.'

'Is it?'

'Yes. Today people are celebrating the Second or Old New Year.'

'Wait. You celebrate New Year two times?'

'Yes.'

'That is _so_ awesome. Let's go, I can't wait to see everything.'

'There would be a little problem.'

'What?'

'We won't be able to go inside any building. We have to stay outside.'

'Eh, it's okay with me.'

For some hours we simply walked around holding hands. The sights were so beautiful. All that color. And so many colorful people too. The first thing we went to was of course, Saint Basil's Cathedral. I stood there for five minutes straight, just staring. It was so beautiful. Then we passed to the Monument dedicated to Minin and Pozharsky, a statue just in front of the cathedral. We passed the GUM department store and got to Kazan Cathedral, where I fell in love with all those arches. Next stop was the State Historical Museum. I never realized how tall that building was. That was the place where Dimitri and I took a photo, as a reminder of that day.

It took us pretty much time to get from one place to another because all those people were there to celebrate and they were crowding the place. I even lost Dimitri into the crowd, but it was relatively easy to find him, because of his height and the easy-to-spot duster. From the second I found him, Dimitri didn't let go of my hand so that I won't get lost again. I felt like a little baby.

It was about nine o'clock now.

'Dimitri, I'm hungry.'

He took me to a very long queue. It took us almost an hour to enter the street food area. Firstly, we got to a big table, full of little bites. Someone was pushing us from behind, trying to make us move. I couldn't decide what to take. There were so many things on that table.

'Come on, Rose. People are waiting.'

'Fine, fine.' I said picking up a sandwich and moving out of the way.

'A sandwich? From all of the options, you grabbed a sandwich?'

'Hey, I panicked okay? And that was the only thing that looked familiar. Oh. What are _these_?'

'Dumplings. You want some?'

'Of course I do. They look so good.'

He ordered and after a man handed me a paper bowl, I started munching. Dimitri was giving me the glance he always made when I was eating.

'What?' I said with my mouth full. 'Why are you always looking at me like that when I'm eating?'

'Because your appetite never ceases to surprise me. And the fact that you actually eat. Not like any other girl who is constantly on a diet.'

'Well, I _love_ food. It makes me happy. So no diet for me.' I said as I took another bite from a dumpling. I felt some plastic in my mouth. I got it out. It was a button. 'Ew, someone lost a button into my dumpling.'

He laughed. 'No, it's a tradition. They are put there on purpose. The person who finds things like these inside their dumplings is somehow blessed with good fortune into the next year.'

'Cool.'

* * *

It was almost midnight.

'Comrade?'

'Yes.'

'I'm cold.'

'I told you to dress up with warm clothes.'

'Yeah, but I didn't think that it will get this cold.'

He took off his scarf and rounded it around my neck. From his backpack he got a beanie and covered my head. Then he took my hands into his and begun warming them with his breath.

'What would I do without you?'

'Freeze to death probably.' he said before kissing the inside of my palm. I loved when he did that.

Finally it was midnight. Wonderful fireworks lit up everything around us. They were like colorful flowers blooming on the black sky.

Dimitri turned towards me, put his hands on my shoulders and dissolved the distance between us. I looked into his eyes. The light from the fireworks reflected into that chocolate sea. I pulled his mouth closer and got my first New Year's kiss.

* * *

As we were making our way home, I remembered something.

'Hey, I didn't get the chance to get a souvenir. How could I have forgotten?' I pouted.

'Rose? Can you get me the water out of my backpack?'

'Yup.' I said as I leaned backwards and took his backpack. I opened it. There was a box inside. 'What's this?'

'Your souvenir.' I opened the box fast. It was a matryoshka doll.

'Dimitri, it's so beautiful. Thank you so much.'

'I'm glad you like it.'

'No, I adore it.'


	36. A test Dancing with our hands tied

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 35 - A test. Dancing with our hands tied**

I was having a big test the next day and I wasn't able to remember a thing. I had all my books spreaded on the floor and my sheets with multiple choice questions were all over the place. I knew the teacher was a big pain in the ass and would address us trick questions. God, I hated when teachers would do anything to make you fail your exam. I tried all day long to learn and not a single thing remained in my head. So I did the only thing I could do in that moment. I began to cry. I was having a major breakdown.

Someone knocked on my door. I wiped out my tears and opened the door.

'I bought us Chine-' Dimitri began to say but then he saw me. His face instantly filled with worry. 'Rose, what happened? Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?'

'It's nothing.' I replied sniffling.

He took me inside. 'If you are crying, then it means it's something.'

'Yeah, it's something. But it's stupid. And I know I shouldn't be crying about it. But I have this huge multiple choice test tomorrow and I just can't remember a thing I read. And I don't want to fail.'

'It's okay. Come, sit. I'll be back immediately.'

When he came back he was holding two M&M's bags in his hand.

'Why did you bring these?'

'This is your motivation. You said you need good motivation. So here it is. I'll help you study. And at every three correct question you get a bean. Deal?'

Laughing and wiping another stray tear I nodded.

We spent the next couple of hours doing quizzes. He found funny ways to make me remember answers to various questions. Once, he was trying to make me say the part which is picked up from saffron flowers. I couldn't say it. It was there, in my brain, but I couldn't get it out. So he took a paper and a pen and began to draw. When he showed me the drawing I burst into laughter. It was the silliest flower I've ever seen. But it was correctly drawn, scientifically speaking and I was able to realize what he was trying to show me.

'I am _so_ keeping this. This is pure art, comrade. One day it will be worth _millions_ of dollars, trust me, I'm an expert.' I said as I went and pinned the drawing on my cork board in the hallway.

I don't remember when I fell asleep. I guess we were talking about ways to multiply plants when my eyes decided they couldn't stay open much longer.

When my alarm went off, I was laying in my bed. On my nightstand was a bag of M&M's and a note that simply said ''Good luck'' in a perfect calligraphy.

* * *

One night, I couldn't fall asleep. I spent some hours just twisting in bed, trying to find the perfect position, but it was pointless. I got up and started to walk around the house. I watered Lil' Dimka. I took a little snack. I had nothing to do. Then I got back to my bedroom and saw the big pile of clothes I needed to take care of. I remembered that the laundry shop is always open on week days. So I gathered all my things and I was on my way.

The walk there was pleasant. I had my headphones with me and I was listening to music. The January night was perfect. Cold air surrounded me and I was taking deep breaths. It was amazing to think about what other people were doing. I was going to do my laundry. Some people were sleeping. Well, the majority of them. But what were the rest of the restless people doing in that exact moment?

I got to my destination and as I reached for the door, I saw Dimitri sitting on a chair, reading, and a washing machine was functioning in front of him. The rest of the shop was empty. I opened the door as silently as I could and I got in. I easily sneaked behind him, and I was preparing to scare him by whispering into his ear ''Howdy, comrade''. But the person scared wasn't him; it was me because as I was bending over the chair behind him he said:

'Hi, Roza.' I squealed.

'What? How? I could have been a serial killer sneaking behind you; how did you know it was me?'

He turned, kissed my cheek and said: 'I always know when you are round.' ah, wasn't he such a cheesy man sometimes?

I put my clothes into the washing machine and plopped onto the chair beside him. I put my head on his shoulder and ask:

'Couldn't sleep either?'

'No. I usually come here at night. It's quiet. And anyway, this place is stacked up with quacking college girls all day long.'

'Hey, am _I_ not a quacking college girl?'

'Yes. But you are _my_ quacking college girl.' he said as he kissed my forehead.

We just stood there, him reading, me listening to the background music.

Then 7/11 by Beyoncé started.

'Oh. My. God. I love this song.' I rose up. 'Comrade, let's dance.' He shook his head no. 'Oh, don't be _such_ a party pooper.' I said as I began dancing. I was fooling around big time. I would clap my hands, spin around, raise my hands and do everything that Beyoncé was saying in her song. And I was singing too. My voice was awful, but I was having fun, and Dimitri didn't seem to mind. I was dancing all around the shop. When the song ended I was in front of Dimitri. 'You are _so_ not fun, buddy.' He rose and came to me. Took my left hand into his and placed his other on my back.

'Let's do this the right way, this time.' he said. I was so confused. Do _what_ the right way? Then it hit me. The radio was playing the same song we danced on, on Christmas. I smiled and placed my head on his chest. I could feel the cold leather from his duster. For some minutes, nothing else existed but us. We were dancing slowly into that laundry shop. And everything else didn't matter.

I kissed him. And our kiss turned into something wild in a matter of seconds. My hands were under his shirt and his hands were disheveling my hair. We were breathing heavily and had to stop from time to time to catch our breaths. Our hands were all over each other. When his hands made their way under my blouse, I could feel the warmth of his skin and the hunger that he was massaging my flesh with. A little moan escaped my mouth.

'Ahem!' someone said from the other side of the store. Instantly, we were apart. Busted! It was the owner. He had that weird eye. Then, he puffed, rolled his eyes and as he turned around he said something in Russian.

I was soothing down my hair and trying to arrange my clothes. 'What did he say?'

Smiling, Dimitri responded: 'Lovers.' I smiled too.

He sat down and I laid myself on two chairs with my head on his thighs. I fell asleep as he was playing with my hair.


	37. Valentine's Day date

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

I am going to rate this chapter M, just in case. Nothing spectacular happens, but I just want to be safe than sorry. :)

In addition, I am going to put a link that will take you to a photo of the dessert that Rose prepared. Prepare yourself to drool: images/recipes/triple_chocolate_mousse_cake_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 36 - Valentine's Day date**

'What are you doing tomorrow?'

'I have nothing planned.' I answered.

'I was thinking that you may want to come over. I'll cook and we'll have dinner together.'

'Is that a _date_ , comrade?' he nodded.

'Should _I_ bring the flowers?' he smiled. 'Oh, I know. I am making the dessert. That's the deal.'

'You. Cooking?'

'Why not?'

'The last time you did that we almost ended up at the emergency room.'

'Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad.' he pulled a face at me. _'Okay_ , fine it was disastrous. But I promise that this time it's going to be okay.'

'Fine. You can bring the dessert.'

'Okay. Then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow.'

'Leaving already?'

'Duh. I have a dessert to make.'

* * *

I found the perfect recipe. It didn't need any baking, which was totally fine with me, because I could have burnt my house down otherwise: I was going to make a triple chocolate mousse cake.

It took me almost all afternoon and evening to make groceries and to actually prepare the cake.

But I was really proud of myself when I finished. The cake looked quite fine and the mousses were incredible. I couldn't abstain myself form scooping some cream from time to time. It was delicious. Finally, the cake needed to rest for some hours so that it won't go mush. The only thing I had to do tomorrow was to put on a layer of cocoa powder and some strawberries on top.

* * *

So it was the big day. The 14th of February. Our first Valentine's Day together. And our first actual date. I was nervous. Even though we spent so many days together, I felt that this day would be really special.

I woke up early, impatient.

I took my time getting ready. I took a long bath and covered my whole body with vanilla scented lotion. I gently curled my hair in big waves, so that it looked natural, and then I took one stand from each side and pinned it at the back of my head. I put on some light make up. The dress I put on was a simple dark red one. It was funny, but I didn't feel the need to perk up while I was with Dimitri. He was making me feel beautiful in so many ways. And I loved that he was telling me that in my most non-beautiful moments, like after I got up and my face was wrinkly. Or when my makeup was smeared and my hair was shaggy after some passionate kissing.

At five in the evening, I was ready to go. But then I remembered that I forgot to fix the cake. I went back to the kitchen and I hurriedly sprinkled a layer of cocoa powder on top, making a lot of dust on the counter. I would deal with that later. I cut some strawberries and put them on the cake. It looked perfect.

Five minutes later I was knocking at his door. He opened the door and as he saw me his eyes widened.

'Sorry I'm late but I forgot something ...'

He kissed me. 'It doesn't matter. You are here now. And you look gorgeous, Roza.'

I blushed. 'Well, I can surely say the same thing about you, comrade.' I said as I entered the apartment. And indeed, he looked so hot. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt, that was highlighting all his toned muscles. His hair was untied and a little damp. So simple and so perfect. How has this man mine again?

I went to the kitchen and put the cake into the fridge. When I returned to the living room, Dimitri was waiting me with a huge bouquet of lilac peonies.

'Oh my God. Where did you even find these in the middle of February?'

He shrugged. 'They are your favorite. So I found a way to get my hands on a bouquet.'

I hugged him hard. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you. These are marvelous.' I said as I was smelling the flowers. 'Wait a second. When did I tell you anything about my favorite flowers?'

'You didn't. But I was into the greenhouse when you told my mother about that. I have been looking for you after, you know. And when I saw the two of you together, I thought I'd better leave you alone.' there was some pain in his eyes. He still felt bad for what happened that day.

I kissed him. 'Thank you so much, Dimitri.'

* * *

The dinner went very well. He made us some stuffed chicken rolls, with some arugula salad and a garnish of sweet potatoes. It was completely delicious. And he really appreciated my dessert too. I got him to take two servings.

* * *

Later, we were sitting on his couch. It all started with a little kissing. Then things rapidly went into another direction. It always happened like that. We were getting heated up very fast. I was now on top of him and he was biting my bottom lip. My hands were messing his soft hair. His hand got to my thighs, lifting my dress. 'I love your dress, Roza. Let's take it off.' And he began to unzip it. My dress was now halfway down, hanging on my hips. He stopped for a moment and looked at me with that glare. That glare that made me feel like I was the only girl in the world. 'So beautiful' he said as he began to kiss and suck my neck, all the way down to my breasts. We were both panting by now. It was going to happen today. Right now. I could feel it.

Then _something_ happened. But not what _I_ expected to happen. Someone knocked at the door. Puff. The magic was gone. Dimitri growled in frustration, put me down and went to open the door. I got up and zipped back my dress. What a bummer. I sat back on the couch with my arms crossed and cursed the one person who thought it was okay to come and knock at someone's door at nine o'clock in the evening. Couldn't he wait until tomorrow?

Dimitri came back and told me that the landlord announced him that tomorrow the water is going to be cut off for three hours for some reparations. Yeah, what a vital information.

But we got over that quickly and spent the rest of the night watching romantic movies and cuddling.

At some point I remembered something. How could I be so stupid?

'Dimitri, wait for me right here. I'll be back in a second.'

I got to my apartment and retrieved a little cute wrapped present. I gave it to him.

'I took this for you. I saw it one day at an Antique shop.'

He opened it. It was a princeps edition of one of his western books. He pulled me into a long hug and then we continued our movie marathon.


	38. Good parents Bad dream

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 37 - Good parents. Bad dream**

One night I woke up with a catastrophic headache. I went downstairs to take a pill. When I was making my way back to my room, I took a look at Lil' Dimka to see if he needed any water. And, on the purple background of his leafs, I spotted a white spot. I took a closer look. It was a little bud!

Without much thought I went directly to Dimitri's door and knocked fast. He opened it and he looked so tired. Then I realized: it was three in the morning and I was banging on his door. Why don't I think things through? His eyes were barely staying open. He brushed them.

'What happened?'

'I'm sorry I woke you up.' I said scratching my arm mindlessly. 'But I saw something and I got so excited and I had to tell you and then the next thing I know is that I am knocking at your door. I'm sorry, comrade.'

'No. It's okay.' we were standing, looking at one another. 'So, are you going to show me?'

'Oh, yeah. Shit. Of course. Come.' he made a grin. 'Yeah, I know, ''Language Rose'' ' I said impersonating him. He looked amused. 'Let's go now.'

I grabbed his hand and took him to where Lil' Dimka was staying.

'What do you see?'

'It's your plant.'

'No, it's our plant. But besides that, what do you see? Look closer.'

He took a step forward and took a better look. 'Is that a little flower?'

'Mhm. Our little baby is blooming. I somehow managed to keep him alive for so long. Thank you for always reminding me to water him. We are such good parents.' I said smiling.

'Yes, I guess we are.' he said pulling me into an embrace from behind. 'And you are going to be such a good mother to our children.'

Come again? My eyes widened in surprise. What did he just say? _Our_ children? Was he thinking about that? Did he even realize what he just said? I looked at him. He was still studying the little bud. Maybe he was too tired and the words just escaped his mouth without realizing. I didn't push things further. But he really said that he wanted to have children together. This thought warmed me wholly.

'Come on, plant poppa. Let's take you to bed. I've kept you up long enough.' I said as I grabbed his hand and headed for my room. We both plopped onto the bed. We fell asleep, he laying with half of his body on mine. He was heavy. But I didn't complain. It was a nice kind of heavy. It made you feel safe.

* * *

I was holding hands with Dimitri and we were walking on a beach barefoot. The sun was setting and I felt very happy. We were both dressed in white. I was wearing a beautiful long dress with big poppies on it.

We got into a boat. He was rowing, as were making our way across a river now. The water was such a clear blue. We were both smiling.

When we got to the middle of the river, Dimitri changed. His face was full of anger, and his clothes were black now. He picked me up and threw me into the water. But I didn't fall into the same water from moments ago. This one was dirty and muddy and it was hard for me to swim. He continued to row, leaving me there to drown. The boat was getting further and further away from me. I swam into the other direction and got to the shore. I got up and watched the other side of the river. There, Dimitri was with another woman, dressed as well in white. I could _feel_ that she was beautiful, even though I wasn't able to actually see her face. The only thing I could distinguish was her raven-black hair and a very pale complexion that accentuated the color of her hair even more. They were holding hands and were waving at me.

The next thing, I am into Dimitri's family's house. It was all burned down, smoke still rising from the ruins. I walked around. On the fireplace I found a photo. It was the same image, of them holding hands and waving from the other side of the river. Suddenly it started to rain. Pouring rain. The drops were so big and so cold and they were hurting my skin. The house started to fill up with water somehow and I couldn't find a way out and I began to drown. I was screaming for help but no one came to rescue me.

* * *

Someone is shaking me and calling my name. I wake up. I am sweating.

'Roza? Roza?'. It's Dimitri. I look into his eyes and begin to cry. 'It's alright,' he says hugging me tight 'it was just a bad dream. Tell me about it.' and still crying I tell him everything.

'I thought I lost you. You abandoned me and you just simply left with that woman. And I was alone. And I began to drown and no one came to save me.'

'Calm down, it was just a bad dream, Roza.' he said soothing my hair 'I'll never leave you, you know that, right?' I nodded and snuggled closer to him. But why was I having this bad feeling in my heart? I could feel that something wasn't right.

* * *

 **What do you think, guys? Is was just a bad dream?**

 **Am I being too obvious here?**

 **Can you guess what is coming soon?**


	39. Early birthday gift

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

Finally, _this_ chapter is rated M for a reason. :)

Plus, I have a link to show you Rose's gift: media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/w/h/white-emerald-3_ (I couldn't find a golden one, but this works too)

Aaaand the background music is: ''SUMMER'' by The Carters. This song is pure genius in my opinion

* * *

 **CHAPTER 38 - Earl birthday gift**

It is finally my birthday. Well, not legally yet, but I was always celebrating my birthday one day in advance with Lissa. It was our little weird tradition. And as tomorrow I'm leaving home for the Easter holiday, I decide to spend this day with Dimitri. The funny thing is he doesn't really know it is my birthday; I never had the occasion to tell him.

So I got dressed up into a cute lilac dress and arranged myself a little.

At four o'clock I was knocking at Dimitri's door.

'Hey! I came around to bring you my keys. You know, so that you will be able to get in and water Lil' Dimka while I'm gone. I would have brought him here, but I read that it is not indicated to switch his place.' I said standing outside and handing him the keys. 'Oh, and now you should go and get dressed, because _this girl_ is taking you out. My treat.'

'Fine, just come and wait inside while I go change.'

I got in and looked at him in shock as I heard the background music. 'Is that Beyoncé? This has to be a dream. Pinch me please. You can't _possibly_ listen to that. Do you have a contusion or something?'

He laughed. 'No, I just liked this song as we were listening to it on our way to my family's house. I listen to it from time to time.'

'This, comrade, is a day I have to remember for all my life.' I said laughing. 'I'll make a note in my calendar when I get home.'

He went to change, but he didn't really. Instead he came back and sat on the couch, holding two boxes, one small, and the other bigger. He first handed me the little one.

'What is this?'

'Your present. I thought I could give it to you earlier. And as you are leaving tomorrow, I guess now is good.'

'How did you know when it's my birthday?'

'I saw it on your I.D. when the police pulled us over.' Is there something that this man doesn't notice?

'You shouldn't have bought me anything. It would have been enough for me to spend this day with you.'

'Maybe. But open it anyway.'

As I open the box, I remain with nothing to say. This thing rarely happens. In the little box lays the most beautiful necklace. It is made from gold and it has attached to it a round pendant, that contains an emerald, encircled by tiny diamonds. This must be worth a little fortune.

'It is splendid, Dimitri. I adore it. Thank you so much. Would you help me put it on?'

He comes behind me, takes my hair out of the way, kisses the back of my neck and then puts the necklace on. Its pendant perfectly fits the space between my collarbones. I turn around and kiss him.

'I will never take this off, I promise.'

'Don't you want to know what is the other thing I got for you?' we were now sitting again.

'The necklace would have been enough. But if you insist, show me.' this time he opens the wrapping and shows me a box of exquisite chocolates. I awe, and extend my hand to grab the box, but he pulls it away.

'No, you have to deserve them.' oh, so this is how this is going to work, huh?

I give him a little peck on the cheek. 'Is this enough?' he shakes his head.

I take his mouth closer and give him a deep kiss. 'What about now?' he shakes his head one more time.

I squint in his direction. Fine. I get myself on top of him and kiss him again, then look at him, questioning him with my glance. He just gets his hand over the back of the couch, getting the chocolates further away. If this doesn't satisfy him, I am going to get that box by force. I angle myself above him, trying to snatch them from his hand. But I don't realize that my chest is rubbing right into his face as I do that. And from all the friction, I feel something hard pressing on my thigh.

I stop moving and ask him: 'What are you carrying into your pants, comrade? Some gun or something?'

'I do have a gun, but I don't have it on me right now.' he says grinning.

 _Let's make love in the summertime..._

 _To be in each other's arms_

'Hm, dangerous.' I say as I start rubbing myself against him. He drops the box on the floor with a thud and grabs my waist with his hands, then travels all the way to my thighs, lifting my dress. A layer in minus, I can feel the friction intensify. 'Hmmmmm.'

 _I wanna drown in the depths of you_

We kiss, and he bites my lip. My hands find their way under his T-shirt. I take it off and throw it on the floor.

 _I want you to come inside right now_

 _So you know just how I feel_

My hands are all over his chest, taking in every millimeter of him.

 _Tell me your desires, I won't ever tire_

He is kissing and sucking on my neck, his hands reaching my butt cheeks and squeezing. I throw my head backward, arching my back and moaning. The things he does to me drive me insane.

 _Up and down motion, come swim in my ocean_

 _'_ We need to get to a bed, right now.' I say breathing heavily. I get up, take his hand and lead the way upstairs. As I climb the stairs, my knees go weak from anticipation and I stumble a little. He picks me up, enclosing my legs around his waist. I bury my head into the crook of his neck and kiss that area.

 _We hugged, made love on the seats_

Then, as he is carrying me upstairs, I make my way up and start biting his ear. He growls in pleasure and climbs the stairs faster.

 _If I can stay in her hair forever, that'd be fine by me_

When we get there he takes a seat on the bed, with me on his lap, unzips my dress and takes it off. He looks at me with that glance again. As he kisses my neck, his hands unclasp my bra and he gets rid of it. Then, he places my back on the cover and rises, getting rid of his pants too.

Should I tell him now? Is it too soon? Too late?

He comes again over me, his weight pressing me into the mattress. I can feel one of his thighs pressing on top of my hot center. He starts kissing me, starting with my mouth and making his way down on my neck. All I can do is to trace lines with my hands on his back and sigh in pleasure. What is this man doing to me?

He then reaches one of my breasts and takes into his mouth my sensitive nipple. I grab his shoulder as his tongue is gently making circles around my sensitive skin, my nails digging into his skin. With one of his hands he takes my other breast and starts rubbing it with his thumb. 'Oh...fuck, Dimitri' is all I can say as my back arches. I can feel that his lips turn into a smile.

What about now? No, he'll stop. I don't want him to _ever_ stop.

He is now kissing his way even further down on my abdomen. He parts my legs even more. One of his hands is gently tracing lines on my inner thigh as he is watching me with hungry eyes. My whole body tenses at his first touch. The area he is playing with is so sensitive. Something starts to gather inside my stomach. Then, one of his fingers gets under my panties and he is following the seam, heading for my wet center, moving slowly, teasing. My back arches.

 _Rose, you have to tell him! It's now or never. He needs to know. NOW!_

I snap out of it and rapidly pull my legs together. Dimitri looks at me bewildered.

'I, I...'


	40. Heartbroken

Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

This chapter is rated M too, cause it continues what I started writing into the last chapter.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 39 - Heartbroken**

'Changed your mind? It's alright, Roza. I won't force anything on you if you don't want to.'

'What? No. I didn't change my mind. I want this more than ever. But I...' he was looking at me questioningly.

I sat up and brushed my hand through my hair. 'I haven't...um, ever done anything like this before. And I, I thought that it was fair for you to know that.' I said embarrassed.

His face lights up with a big smile. He comes closer and whispers into my ear: 'You have no idea how glad I am that I am the first man you give yourself to.' A quiver went down my spine and I get goosebumps all over my skin, making it even more sensitive if that's possible. He feels that, laughs lightly and lays me back again. Every touch he makes on my body is driving me insane. He proceeds to take off my panties. I feel his fingers on my hot skin, dragging the material down. He does the same thing with his underpants. Oh my God he is _huge_. Is it even going to fit?

He hoovers above me, opening the nightstand's drawer. He takes out a condom and before he opens it, I say: 'You won't need that.' He raises an eyebrow. 'I am taking the pill. I just thought I should be ready.' He bites his lip and responds: 'Perfect, now I can feel you wholly.' And the goosebumps are back.

He comes back over me, kissing me gently. I put my hands into his silky brown hair. And when he enters me, my toes curl, I moan into his mouth and my hands clasp, pulling his hair. It is such a strange sensation. It did hurt a little, but it was such a pleasurable pain. I can feel my intestines starting to knot.

'Did I hurt you, Roza?' he asks concerned.

I shake my head. 'Did I pull too hard?' I say as I take my hands and move them on his back.

He gives me a playful smile. 'No. I kind of liked it, in fact.'

He continues to thrust, moving in a slow pace. I can feel my insides full. He fits perfectly inside me. I bite my lip. 'Mmmmmm, oh God.'

'Faster.' I say. I can't take it no more. Something is building inside my belly. He needs to move faster.

'Are you sure?'

'Mhm, I won't break.'

Instead of that, he picks up one of my legs and puts it around his hip. This way, he thrusts deeper. I almost let out a scream. But he is still moving too slow.

'Just _go_ faster. _Please.'_

The sight of me begging makes him growl. He kisses me one more time and in a quick movement, he turns us around. He is now resting his back on the bedpost. I am on top. His hands grab my hips.

'Now you can move as fast as you want.'

I don't need any other impulsion. I place my hands on his hard abdomen and begin to move back and forth. His hands are helping me move, and in a matter of seconds we move in the same rhythm. In this position, he is able to touch a spot inside of me that makes me say an 'Aaaah' every time when he reaches it. I look at him and he is all sweaty. He looks at me with so much hunger in his eyes. I smile satisfied. I start to move faster and faster, beginning to pant loudly. We both do.

When he raises one of his hands and starts to rub one of my nipples again, I scream. The ball of tension that built itself inside of me is ready to explode.

'Come for me, Roza.' And as he says my name, the bubble pops and I am thrown off a cliff of pleasure. I start to scream as I dug my fingers into his flesh and arch myself backwards. I scream as loud as I can. Nobody else will hear me anyways. Seconds later, I feel him release too, with a growl.

Consumed from all that pleasure I simply fall flat on his chest, panting.

'Roza,' he says, still breathing heavily 'you were amazing.' I smile joyful.

'So, I guess I found out why everybody is making such a big deal about this. It feels like you took me to Nirvana, comrade.' I feel ourselves shake as he laughs and then he soothes my hair and kisses my forehead.

'And I guess you were right.'

'About what?'

'About the fact that I was going to be the next reason you scream.'

I raise my head and look at him with a shocked expression. 'You heard that?' Laughing, he nods.

* * *

We simply lay there for some time.

'What about some dinner?' he asks.

'That would be nice. But I have to go and put on some clothes first.'

'I won't mind if you stay like this.'

I laugh. 'Of course you won't. But I'll go anyway. I'll be gone for 30 minutes tops.'

'I'll miss you.' he says as he kisses me.

I get up, cover myself with one of his sheets and look one more time at him. He lays there in all his glory with a smug smile on his face. Men. I run out of his apartment and get into mine.

The first thing I do before taking a shower is to look into the mirror. My hair is messed up, my makeup is still standing somehow and all over my neck and my breasts are red spots. That bastard. Until tomorrow they will turn purple. But as I look longer at them, I begin to love them. They mark me as being his. And I hope that he belongs to me too.

* * *

It takes me less than I thought to be ready. I dressed myself with clothes that you can dispose of easily; just in case there will be another occasion. I don't think I'll ever get bored of having sex with him. As I make my way to the door I stop to check on our little baby. It fully bloomed and started to grow. I need to tell Dimitri that we need to make a little visit to the market to get another flower pot.

I got out of my apartment with my back towards the exit so that I could close the door more easily. I hear some noise coming from Dimitri's door and guess that he was going to come to retrieve me. He missed me that much? I turn around and see the real source of the noise. Into the doorframe are two persons, kissing. What the _fuck_ is going on? I gasp. They immediately break apart and turn to face me.

I am petrified. Who is this woman? My chest fills with disgust. Twenty minutes ago we were having sex. Now, he was kissing this woman. I think I am going to faint. My voice comes out cold as ice.

'Hello, _Mister_ Belikov. _Madam_.' I said nodding in her direction and plastering on my face the fakest smile. I could feel my cheeks hurt. I can't look Dimitri into his eyes. I can't look at him at all.

'Hello.' she responded. Her voice sounded so high-pitched. That sound annoyed me to the core of my being. I wanted to punch her so bad. 'Oh, and please, don't call me Madam, it makes me feel old. Call ma Tasha. I am Dimitri's fiancée. And _you_ are?'

I felt like I am going to fall on the floor. 'I am Rose.' I said, my voice cracking. 'Excuse me, I have to go.'

I ran like hell. I was about to fall for two times while descending the stairs. But I couldn't breathe. Something was pressing my chest so hard. I had to get out of there as fast as I could. I stop just outside the building and empty my stomach.

No, this cannot be happening. He was ENGAGED? And he lied to me for all this time. Hot tears start falling down my cheeks. What have I done? I got involved into a relationship with an engaged man.

I start walking aimlessly through the streets. Finally, I find a bench and sit. And sit. And sit. Just staring into the blackness of the night.

* * *

 **Someone asked what age Rose is turning and the answer is 18. Um, I just came to realize this, and I don't know if it is legal or something, but in my country the legal age is 18 and I didn't think about that no more. Sorry guys if this seems wrong to you :)**


	41. Tasha

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

 **Guys, I just put Tasha into my story for some more drama, and it will all make more sense later, I promise. But trust me, Dimitri is _not_ going to ignore Rose and go to Tasha. Hell no.**

 **This chapter will bring some light to this matter.** **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 40 - Tasha**

 **DPOV:**

Someone is knocking at my door. Why would Roza be knocking? She knows the door is open and that she can let herself in. I put down the peanut butter jar and head to the door and open it. In front of me is Tasha. _That_ Tasha.

'What are you-' is all I manage to say before she embraces me and kisses me. I stay there, not being able to move, bewildered. Then I hear a gasp. Tasha lets go of me and I see Roza. Her face is a mask of pure shock. Then, her mouth turns into a strange smile and she says:

'Hello, _Mister_ Belikov. _Madam_.' and nods towards Tasha.

Mister Belikov. These words come as a dagger into my chest. She pretends that she doesn't know me.

'Hello.' Tasha says. 'Oh, and please, don't call me Madam, it makes me feel old. Call ma Tasha. I am Dimitri's fiancée. And _you_ are?'

No, she just didn't say that, right? Rose's face crumbles.

'I am Rose.' she said, her voice cracking. 'Excuse me, I have to go.' and she runs down the stairs.

Tasha turns around facing me. 'She's nice. And so polite. Is she the new lessee?'

'Tasha' I exhale deeply 'what are you _doing_ here?'

'What do you mean? Where is my welcome? I came back, baby.'

'You came back? After almost seven months you just _simply_ came back?'

'I missed you, baby. And I told you I would get back after my work in France would end.'

'What work, Tasha?'

'What do you mean?'

'Stop playing stupid. I know you didn't go to France to work.'

'What are you implying, Dimka?'

'First, don't call me like that. And you know what I am talking about. I am referring to Fabien.'

'How dare you even suggest something like that? You never were the jealous type. Fabien is nothing more than my boss.'

'Yeah, the boss you were _fucking_.' she slapped me.

'Don't you _dare_ say that again. What is _wrong_ with you, Dimitri? Where is this all coming from? Why are you making up these things?'

'I am not making up anything. In fact, your _boss_ sent me a nice photo a week after you left. You want to know what it contained? The photo was of the two of you. You were both naked and you were sleeping. Into his arms. Attached to that photo was a very interesting message: ''It seems that I am fucking her better than you. This is why she decided to come to France. With me.''. So are you still going to tell me that you went there just for work?'

'No, this is _not_ true.' I pulled my phone and showed her the picture.

'I was feeling very bad that the last thing we did before you left was to argue. I wanted you to never leave my side, Tasha. I hoped you would come back to me. But then I got to understand why you really left. You could at least have had the decency to tell me. But you didn't. And as I saw that you never called and never texted, I thought that you were living your new life and I would never get to see you again. And I got over you. I _am_ over you. But here you are now, calling me your fiancé. Why did you even bother to come back? Did he leave you for another woman and you thought that you would get back to the stupid guy that was going to wait for you for seven months, even though you never bothered to say something?'

'You piece of shit! You think you can treat me like that?'

'I am not saying anything that is not the truth, and you know it.'

'You _can't_ do this to me, Dimitri!'

'But what am I doing to you? And what about what you did to me?'

'But I still love you!'

'I don't really think that you do, Tasha. And even if you would still have feelings for me, I can't feel anything for you. I _don't_ love you anymore. Hell, I think I never _really_ did love you. We were both hurting and we took comfort into each other's arms after your brother died, and we began to call it love. I asked you to marry me because you seemed to want it so much and you would always ask me when I was going to do it. But I never really _felt the need_ to doit.'

'You will regret this, Dimitri, trust me. You can't leave me like this.'

'You don't get it, don't you? Tasha, please think about this. If you really would have loved me as you are stating now, why did you leave to France with that man? The truth is that _you_ left me. I didn't do anything. I am going to ask you something: do you know what my favorite color is? Do you know anything about my family? My favorite food? Or do you know something, anything about me?'

'Of course I do!'

'Then answer me.' Silence. 'Do you see where I am heading here? And at the same time, I can't respond to these same questions about you. What we had wasn't love. We barely had a symbiotic relationship. And I am glad that you left. Because you made me realize these things.'

'So you just decided that you don't want me anymore?'

'I think that you decided that first, Tasha. Seven months ago. Why do you make all of this my fault? You are the one who left. And now you come back and get mad at me? This is not how things work. My heart doesn't belong to you anymore. And I guess that it never did.'

'And to whom does it belong to now?'

'That is none of your business.'

'Oh, so you _have_ someone. Is that girl, isn't it? That Rose, right? I saw how you were looking at her when she left. You are screwing that little bitch!'

'Tasha, watch your words!'

'I can't believe it. You _cheated_ on me.'

'No. _You_ were the one who did the cheating.'

'How many times do you want me to tell you that I _didn't_ do anything?!'

'In fact, I don't want to hear you say that anymore. I already have the proof so I don't see the point of you denying. And now, I think you'd better leave.'

'So what, so that would get to chase after that _whore_?'

'Tasha, firstly, as I said, my life is none of your business anymore. And secondly, stop speaking bad words about her, or I'm going to do something I will regret. Go now, please.'

'Fuck you, Dimitri! And fuck her too! Go to hell! But listen to my words. I promise you are going to regret doing this to me!'

'I'm sorry Tasha, but you did this to yourself.'

She slapped me one more time, then turned around, grabbed her bags and left.

Now I need to find Roza. How am I going to repair this?

* * *

 **Which way do you think the things are going, guys?**

 **and, thank you** **rose conde for the age clarification; I am relieved that the things are okay with my story :)**


	42. I don't want to hear it

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 41 - I don't want to hear it**

 **DPOV:**

I knock on her door. Nothing. I try the knob. Closed. So she didn't come back while I was arguing with Tasha. I try the roof. Empty. Where should I look for her? _Think, Dimitri, think!_ Where could she possibly go? I get out of the building. It is raining. I run to the closest park. She has to be there. She always admires nature when she is feeling blue. And I am right; I find her sitting on a bench with her knees up, staring at nothing.

'Roza?' I say as I am getting closer. Her head snaps in my direction and when she sees me, she immediately gets up. She is looking at me with a glance that is making my chest hurt. She watches me like I am a stranger to her. And maybe she is right. I can feel the hurt into her eyes.

'You have _lost_ your right to call me like that. Don't you _ever_ call me like that.' She says shaking her head.

'Rose, please listen to me. I can explain-'

'No. I don't want to hear it. Go back to your _fiancée_. What were you _thinking_ , Dimitri? That this whole thing won't come to the surface and I won't get to know the truth? For how _long_ did you think that you could hide this thing from me? What? You thought that I was going to be so in love with you that by the time she would come back I would accept to be some kind of mistress of yours? That I would just simply stand by and watch you _marry_ her? That you would fuck her and while she was sleeping you would get to my apartment and satisfy other wishes with me? Or better than that, were you hoping for a threesome?' Her words were filled with venom.

'Don't say that, Rose. I wouldn't. Not to you.'

'I don't know what to say! I don't know what to think! I was a fucking mess and then I met you and then things kept on getting better and better. You were making me happy. You were so kind to me. And I fell for you. Hard. I _loved_ you. I loved you even in those aching moments when you rejected me and told me that what happened between us was a mistake. I kept on loving you even when I had to pretend that we were just friends. And when you took me to your family's house and Viktoria said that I was one of the very few people you brought there, I thought that I meant something for you. I thought that you were finally going to let me inside.' She came closer and looked me right in the eyes.

'After what Adrian has done to me, you were there for me. But you know what? You are no different than him. You did to me the same thing he did. The only difference is that this time it feels a million times worse. What you thought? Oh, poor Rose, she is a mess. I'd better take advantage of that and bring her into my bed, right? She is such an easy prey. What happened with your _moral_ _code_ , huh? You lied to me for so long, Dimitri! You are not so different from Adrian. And you had the courage to criticize him. You are such a hypocrite!' I grabbed her wrists trying to make her stop gesturing around.

'Rose, just listen to me. _Please_.'

'Take your hands off me! Don't you fucking touch me ever again!' she began hitting my chest with her fists. 'You lied to me! You were engaged! Is that why you never told me anything about you? You feared that I will make some connections and I would figure out that you are a lying bastard? I _hate_ you! I gave _myself_ to you! It was so important to me. And I thought that you loved me in return. But I guess the only thing you were after was some fun with the girl next door while your fiancée was away. _Seven_ months! For _seven_ months you have been playing with my feelings. I was _so_ stupid! So damn stupid. I fell for that thing once and I thought that it won't be possible to happen again. But I guess I really know how to pick my men.'

'Just let-'

'No! I don't want to hear any excuse of yours! I'm not falling for your shit twice. You know, I thought I knew you.' She laughs bitterly. 'I guess I didn't. And I thought you were the right guy for me. But I was wrong again. You were never _mine_ for real. Not wholly. And half of you is not enough for me. So go and be _her_ _man_ now. You are free to do so.' She wiped her face. I don't know if she did that because of the rain or because she was probably crying. 'I'm going to leave now. I can't stand to see you right now. I don't want to see you ever again. You make me sick. Don't come seek me or something. And don't you _dare_ follow me.' She takes a few steps.

'We weren't together anymore.' Is all that I find right to say in that moment.

She turns around and laughs loudly. 'I can't believe this. And why didn't you fucking tell me!? Oh, and because the two of you weren't together anymore is the reason her tongue was so deep down your throat, right? Why didn't you push her away? I'll tell you why. Because you seemed to enjoy it, you bastard! But you know what? Too bad for you. Now you'll have to go find another stupid teenager to fall for your bullshit. Go on and play with another one, not me. I am done.'

And I stay there, watching another person that I love leave me.

* * *

 **I was able to update earlier today, guys! Hope you liked it. Somehow. Is this too much drama? Eh, well, I'll make it up for this later. :)**


	43. Easter holiday

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 42 - Easter holiday**

How _dare_ he? What was he going to say? That she was his cousin? That fiancée is the word for cousin in Russian? That by eating your cousin's face is how you greet her nowadays? How stupid did he think I was? Why did he even bother to come after me?

I finally get home. I am soaking wet, the weight of my clothes embracing me. My chest hurts so much I think that something inside me is going to break for real. Can you die from a broken heart? Because I really feel like I will. I just want to get out of this place as soon as possible. Tomorrow at the same hour I'll be home. When I'll come back I'll have to change the place I am living in. I can't stay here no more. It would be too hard to have to see his face every day. I don't think I'll be able to control myself.

I undress and simply stay on the couch. My mind is empty. I can't feel anything anymore. I'm so numb.

Someone knocks at my door.

'GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! JUST GO, DIMITRI!' my throat hurts. He won't give up easily, I feel this. But I won't either. I am not going to let him fool me again.

He stays there and calls my name for some time. I am not going to respond anymore. Finally, he stops. Thank God he left.

* * *

The clock ticks. It is now four in the morning. At five thirty my plane leaves. I go to the bathroom to take a shower. My face is a mess. My eyes are red, my face all puffy. I don't care. My eyes land on my marks. I would like to rip my flesh apart.

I dress with a turtleneck so I won't see the marks no more. They are a constant reminder of last night. I put on only black clothes. Because I feel dead inside.

4:45. I get out the door and I almost stumble over him. He is sleeping on the hallway floor, next to my door, his back leaning on the wall. I almost laugh. What is he trying to prove? This shit won't impress me. I get past him and I am on my way home.

* * *

I try to sleep the entire trip. But I keep on dreaming about his touches on my body and how he made love with me. My sleep is restless and I get exhausted. When I arrive, my parents are waiting for me. They look so happy to see me. But all I want to do is to cry my lungs out.

'Rose, are you feeling fine?' my mum asks. 'You look so peaky and so pale. Are you sick?' yeah, heartsick.

'No, I just couldn't sleep and I am exhausted from the flight.'

'Let's take you home then' says Abe and hugs me.

They left me be that day. During dinner they asked me different questions about college and friends and parties and food and holidays and then they hit a sore spot: they asked me if I found someone nice in Russia.

'No. Not really. No one in particular. What made you think that? I haven't found someone.' I sounded almost hysterical. But how could I tell them that I had a fake relationship with an engaged man? How could I tell them that I had sex with him? And on top of that, how will they react when they will find out that he is almost seven years older than me? I had to be very careful with this topic, at least until I would get over all of that shit. I don't think I'll ever be able to tell them about Dimitri.

* * *

 **The next day:**

'Guess who's back in town!' says Lissa as she enters my room. When she sees me, her face fills with concern.

'What happened, baby girl? What's wrong?'

She is only person I told about Dimitri. When I am near her, it seems that I can't keep anything inside me anymore and start to cry.

'What's wrong? Tell me, Rose. We will figure it out together.'

'He is engaged.'

'That son of a bitch! He proposed to Sydney? What a _dick_! He barely knows her.'

'Not Adrian, Lissa.'

'But who?' her eyes widen in surprise. _'Noooooo_.' I nod, sobbing. She takes me into an embrace.

'And, and he was kissing her. And that after we, after we...'

'After you what, Rose?'

'After we made love, Lissa. I can't believe this thing happened. Please tell me this is just a bad dream. It can't be true. This _cannot_ be happening.' she is soothing my hair, trying to calm me down. 'I have put every part of me into this relationship. I gave him everything. I gave _myself_ to him.'

'Look, Rose. I don't want to be the bad guy in this scenario. But you are just in denial right now. You need to accept that this thing really happened. You have to deal with it.'

'But, but we were so happy together.'

'I won't deny that. But he did what he did. If I ever see him, I am going to set him on fire for what he did to you. But now you have to work with what you have. Come on, let's wash your face.'

* * *

Over the next days I passed through all the phases. I didn't think that shit was true. But until you experience it, you never realize it. I think that I have done the same things when I broke up with Adrian, but it wasn't so bad, because I realized that I haven't really been in love with him. He was some kind of replacement so that I could forget about my crush over Dimitri.

I got to the point where I thought that I would be able to forgive him. He broke up with that woman. I would be able to have him for my own again. Then, it was anger that took control over me, and I would snap at every little inconvenience. Then, I wanted to be left alone. But it was such a blessing that I had Lissa beside me to bring sense back to my thoughts. I don't think that I could have done this without her help. In the end, I got to the conclusion that life actually just goes on after these things. You just have to get over them somehow.

I began to listen to my old music again, instead of break up songs, I went shopping with Lissa, met with my old friends, went clubbing, and spent Easter with my parents. It felt good to take a break and go back to where I could be myself again, around the people who really loved me.

And after two weeks since the incident, I felt more like the old me again. I could breathe in again, without a weight pressing on my chest. I was finally over it. Or at least I thought I did.


	44. I'm back

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 43 - I'm back**

But good things often come to an end and you have to go back and face the reality. I was now back to Russia, in order to resume my courses, now that the Easter holiday was over.

One thing I realized while I was home: that things weren't as bad as I had always thought. Maybe I grew up while I was far from home. While I was having dinner one evening with my parents, I realized that I haven't been the perfect daughter all the time. And that they weren't the bad guys the whole time. And I felt the need to let them know that. It was a relieving moment for me to actually say those things out loud.

As I was getting up the stairs of my building, I was remembering my second departure. My mother hugged me and told me for the first time that she was proud of me. I have been waiting for her approval for my entire life. And now, I hoped that we would get the chance to go back to the relationship we had when I was a kid.

I reach my floor and climb the last step as Dimitri's apartment door opens. Just perfect. I am in no condition to see him. Not now, not ever. I was feeling fine and I didn't want to go back to grieving our relationship. But Dimitri is not the one who gets out the door. A tall man with blonde hair exits the apartment. Ivan.

'Hello, Rose!'

'Hi.' I respond, smiling faintly.

'How are you?'

'Fine. I guess that I am fine.' I say as I unlock my door. Before I get to enter, he says:

'He left, you know?'

'Why? He can't see my face anymore? Is he being _remorseful_? _That_ would be something new.' I couldn't keep myself from being sarcastic.

'No. He thought you would need some space. You said you didn't want to see him again. Or for him to reach to you. So he left last night to Baia.' What a saint. I rolled my eyes.

'That is perfect. This means I will be able to leave this place without having to see him again. It works perfectly for me.'

'Look, Rose. I know him for so long. We grew up together. And if you would know the whole truth-'

'He _had_ the chance to tell me the truth. But he didn't say a thing for seven months. Maybe it wasn't my business at first, but since we started dating in January, I guess I had the right to know he was engaged, don't you think?'

'It's not like that. He-'

'You don't have to make up excuses for him, Ivan. _He_ fucked up. And I can't trust him anymore. I can't trust a word he'd say.'

'Will you ever listen to him? Just to hear the truth? Nothing more?'

'What truth? The truth that he was messing with my feelings while his next wife was God knows where? Yeah, I've _seen_ it already.'

He sighed. 'Fine, do as you think it's best for you.' He turned around and headed for the stairs.

'Ivan?'

'Yes, Rose?'

'You know that my problem is not with you, right? You seem to be a good guy and I don't want you to get me wrong here. I don't want you to think that I am mad at you.'

'I know, Rose. And I know that you are hurting right now. And I hope that someday you will be able to find the strength in you to just listen. I hope you will be happy again someday.'

'Thank you.'

* * *

I lock the door behind me. Everything is just the same. My shoes scattered into the hallway, Dimitri's silly drawing on my cork board, all my books piled up on the coffee table, his sheet from that night thrown on my couch, a bouquet of lilac peonies on the kitchen counter. Wait, _what_? The flowers are fresh. Did he fucking break into my apartment? This is what he understands from giving me space? I search the whole apartment for other changes. I don't find anything changed. But I find one thing that should have been different and it isn't. Lil' Dimka is alright. He should have gone dry in these two weeks. Then I remember: I gave my keys to him before leaving. That's how he got in. Somehow, I couldn't find the strength to be mad at him for this. But I know I should have been mad. He had no right to get in here.

* * *

Later that day, I finally went to sleep. I didn't bother to change the sheets or the covers. It didn't matter. After brushing my hair, I got into the bed and covered myself. I felt his pregnant smell. Has he been _sleeping_ in my bed? This was somehow creepy. But why couldn't he just leave me alone? Everything I did and everything I saw since I entered that door kept on reminding me of him. And I didn't need the constant reminder of his existence if I was planning to move on. I couldn't afford to relapse.

* * *

 **Well, I depicted a very stubborn Rose. She is hurting and she won't listen to anyone. Maybe this is frustrating for you guys, but she will find the whole truth a little later.**


	45. My ex's apartment

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 44 - My ex's apartment**

Two months have passed since I got back. Dimitri hasn't returned yet. I finished my first year of college and it was now officially summer. And summer meant possibilities. It meant longer days spent doing the things you love. It meant eating ice cream while watching the sunset, and then the stars lighting up the dark sky. It meant reading your favorite books sitting on the green grass outside, with your shoes off, resting your back on a tree's trunk. It meant digging your feet into the hot sand on your way to the sea. It meant the waves washing away all of your worries. It meant freedom to do anything you wanted to do all year long. It meant long walks at night, without having to carry a coat with you. It meant spontaneous storms with thunders and lightnings, followed by rainbows. And I felt free at last.

I was finally able to convince my father that I needed to move out. I summoned some stupid reasons and he agreed. I found another apartment, at five minutes of walking from the college, and I was now into the process of moving. I had to free the apartment until the end of the month. I still had fifteen days to do so, but I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I have already remained here for too long and the chances of seeing Dimitri again were increasing with each passing day.

I was now putting all of my things into different boxes. Fragile stuff. Things to give away. Things related to school. Things that were going to the dumpster. Things that reminded me of Dimitri. Yeah, I couldn't get myself to throw them away. I even kept his necklace on my neck for some reason. I guess I wasn't ready to forget everything yet. But soon I would. I _had_ to.

I was taking care of the living room, and I was currently packing the books and the little stuff from my bookcase. I picked up a little figurine that I had from Lissa. She bought it for me when she went to Switzerland. It was a little silicon smiling cow. But I dropped it and it ended up under the bookcase. I laid on my belly and extended my hand under the bookcase, searching for my little precious gift. Instead of rubber, my hand touched something made of metal. I scooped it out. It was a set of keys. But these weren't my keys. They were Dimitri's. I had them from that night on the roof, when he first kissed me. I threw them when I got back and never thought about them again. And here I was holding them in my hands. I was going to give them to the landlord later. I put them into my pocket and continued packing.

Later on, I was laying in bed with those keys in my hand, turning them around. I wanted to go into his apartment. But I didn't at the same time. I knew that it would be wrong from me to go there. It was some kind of home invasion. I would do a delict. Not that anyone would _know_ about that. Was I supposed to go? Maybe not. Better not. But he has been to my apartment. Yeah, but I asked him to. So I gave him my permission somehow. I, on the other hand, had no permission. But what if I had some of my stuff at his place? Should I leave them there? Should I go get them? Yeah, I would better go get them. If I was leaving this place, I wanted to leave it for good, no things left behind.

So here I was, at 11 o'clock, busting into my ex's apartment. I felt like I was into one of those movies where you were followed and had to sneak in into someone's house before the bad guy came and killed you. I was constantly looking around as I was unlocking the door. I was very paranoid. At some point, I could swear that I saw someone at the end of the hallway. But finally, I got in.

I turned on the light. Everything was just as I remembered. Even the smell. It felt like home. I shook my head and snapped out of that. I came here with a reason. I started looking around, in search of something that belonged to me. And I found a couple of things. A book about facial expressions and how to recognize what they were signaling, that I used to read from time to time. One of my earrings on the coffee table, next to the keys I gave Dimitri. The box of chocolates on the kitchen counter. I checked the expiration date. They were good for another three months. They were mine after all. I opened it and ate a chocolate. It was exceptional indeed.

I wasn't really prepared to get into his bedroom. But I had to. I opened the door fast, expecting to find someone inside, so I wanted to take him or her by surprise. The door hit the wall with a thud. I turned on the light and looked around. There was no one. But on the edge of the bed I found a pile of clothes perfectly folded. My clothes. A matching set of underwear and a simple lilac dress. In my mind popped the images of Dimitri undressing me. I had to get out of there fast. I grabbed the clothes and something fell from between them. It was an envelope. I picked it up. The only thing written on it was: 'For you.' in perfect calligraphy. For me? Well, the envelope was between my clothes, so it had to be for me, right? But was I ready to see its content?


	46. My beloved Roza

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 45 - My beloved Roza**

I sat down on the edge of the bed. I may need that. I looked at the envelope one more time, turning it in my hand. I took a deep breath and opened it. Inside was a letter:

 _My beloved Roza,_

 _I hope that you found your way back to my apartment as I did for many nights as you were gone. I also hope that you are feeling better now and that someday you would forget about this and you would get to live your life as you are supposed to and how you deserve to._

 _I am writing this letter to you not to look for forgiveness, because I may not deserve it for as long as I live. But an explanation is at least what you deserve. I should have told you everything a long time ago. So I am going to explain you all from the beginning, not looking for excuses, because I am aware that I am the only one to be blamed for this. And I am profoundly sorry for keeping all of this away from you. I should have known you better._

 _As you know, I grew up in Baia. As I was a child, I befriended two boys: Ivan and Yakov. Since that day the three of us were inseparable. We did everything together. Yakov and I always dreamt to become Marines. So we both went to the Military School and then at Marine Military Academy. We graduated at the top of our class and then someone recruited us to go to America. And we did that gladly._

 _One day we were on sea, when our boat received a distress message from a boat nearby that caught on fire. We went there to rescue the people on the boat. It seemed that the boat belonged to a rich man who was having a party with his friends and a bunch of women. We got to the boat and almost everyone was already into the water. We helped everyone get on our boat. But someone was still on the burning boat. A girl, around twenty years old. She had her leg trapped. We weren't supposed to leave anybody behind. This is the first thing they teach you. But the fire threatened to get to our boat as well and my mates decided that the girl wasn't worth that risk. They simply didn't care about her, because she was ''just a hooker and there are plenty of other girls to take her place''. But Yakov and I didn't agree. So we went to the boat trying to rescue the girl. He got to her first and as we were heading toward our boat, something fell on Yakov and pinned him down. He told me to get the girl to safety. I promised him that I would come back for him. But I wasn't fast enough and as I reached back for him, the floor under him opened and he fell. He died there because of me. I was the one who persuaded him to come with me. And now a mother lost her son and a sister her bigger brother, all because of me._

 _After we came back I immediately resigned, because I couldn't stand to be around those people who would have let that girl die. She was so young and had a whole life ahead of her._

 _I came back to Baia and told Yakov's family about his death. They were devastated. Now, the family lost the only remaining man figure. So I offered my help. Because I felt responsible for his death. The guilt of his death will follow me for all my life. As I said above, Yakov had a sister. Her name is Tasha. We were both suffering, and somehow, we found comfort into each other's arms, and began to call it love. We left Baia and moved to Moscow. She was almost always asking me when I was going to propose to her. So I did it, but we hadn't the chance to tell everybody else._

 _A month after the big event, she came to my place and told me that she was going to France with her work. We had a fight. And she left. We weren't speaking. But I thought that she needed some space, and after she would calm down, she will speak with me again. A week later, I got a message from her boss that contained a photo of them naked, into a bed. For the next period she never called and never sent a message. I thought that she was just simply living her life with that man and forgot about me. So I got over her. I thought that she will never come back. It was painful to know why she really left to France. After her brother's death, her betrayal only made things worse. But everything changed when I met you, Roza. You came into my life not long after Tasha's departure._

 _You said you were a mess, but I think you were a hurricane that was meant to come into my life to turn everything around and make things better than before. You are such a colorful person and you are not afraid to be yourself and to express yourself. You owe the person you are and that is the most courageous thing I know. And you get happy for the smallest reasons. And you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. So beautiful it hurts sometimes. Both on the inside and on the outside._

 _And you were so easy to fall in love with. I think I loved you from the first second I saw you on that hallway. Everything about you is unbelievable. The way you dance is heartwarming. The day you moved in I saw you dance and from that moment forward, I just wanted to be in your presence. There has always been something that made me come back to you, pulling me towards you._

 _And I never wanted to see you cry. From the moment I saw Adrian so close to hit you, I promised myself to protect you. No matter what. But I ended up to be one of the reasons you cried. And I will regret that for the rest if my life._

 _I've told you that kissing you for the first time was a mistake. I didn't think it was fair for you to get false hopes. I didn't think I was ready to give my heart to somebody again. And you were so young. I thought I would never get to be the right person for you. I made a lot of mistakes, Roza, and many of them were made towards you. But you will never ever be one of them. Falling in love with you will never be one of my mistakes._

 _You came into my life and simply warmed my whole being. I didn't think I was ready to love again. But you just settled yourself into my heart and remained there. You made me feel things differently than I did before. You made me the happiest man I have ever been. And you made me want to be a better man for you every day. When I was with you, nothing and no one else mattered._

 _I hope that one day you will be able to find the strength into that beautiful soul of yours to forgive me, at least you, because I know I will never do. I will never forgive myself for not trusting you enough, for not being able to let you know who I really was, for not telling you the truth from the beginning, for hurting you, for letting you go._

 _I can only promise you two things. I promise that you were the only woman present into my heart and into my mind for the last seven months. There was no Tasha. Just you and it will always be you. And I promise you'll live in my heart for as long as it beats._

 _I am sorry, I'll always be_

* * *

 **What do you think guys? It took me so much to write this chapter. I wrote it in like three days, because I would keep on coming back over and over again, always changing something. It still doesn't seem perfect to me, but I hope you guys liked it. :)**


	47. Hostage

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 46 - Hostage**

I read the letter three times. As I finished reading it the last time, I was crying like a little baby. What have I done? Why didn't I just listen to what he had to say? But God I was so furious back then. And I felt so betrayed. I couldn't trust him. He lied to me for so long. But here I was, holding the whole story in my hands. Suddenly I felt the need to hear his voice. A longing feeling clutched my heart. I missed him more than ever.

I got up fast and ran to my apartment. I got to the box where I put all the things that reminded me of him. I took everything out looking for a piece of paper. And then I found it. It was the note he wrote to me after the Adrian incident. It contained his number. Without thinking, I got out my phone, introduced his number and called. The phone started ringing. Then I realized. What was I doing? Why was I calling him? For all I knew, the letter could be another lie, from the beginning to the last word and that was another way of fooling me to trust him again. Or was this really the truth? Was he telling me a tragic story just to make me feel sorry for him and go back running into his arms? Was he trying to make me think this situation was Tasha's fault and he was just a victim? I was so confused. What do I do now? But my succession of thoughts was interrupted by a raspy voice into the speaker, saying: 'Roza?' I gasped and ended the call, throwing the phone on the ground like it was spontaneously on fire. How did he know it was me? And what was I doing? What was I thinking? How could I be so stupid? I needed to stay as far away as possible from this man, not to call him into the middle of the night. What was wrong with me?

I went back to his place, I grabbed all of my belongings and I got out if there. Forever.

Before going to bed, I read the letter one more time. Was he saying the truth? Was he trying to fool me even more with lies and sweet words and apologies? I was so confused.

* * *

I woke up as I heard some movement into the house. Another mouse? Maybe a rat this time. But now I had to deal with this alone. No Dimitri to come to my rescue. I got out of the bed. The sound seemed to come from the living room. Before heading that way, I took with me the Frozen metal bat my dad gave to me to protect myself. It was kind of funny. I opened my door without making a sound, so that I could catch the rat red-handed, chewing on my furniture, making illegal races into my living room or anything that rats do at night when no one is watching. I made my way downstairs and stopped at the bottom of the stairs because the noise stopped.

Then I saw a human silhouette. It was a burglar! My heart skipped a beat and a ball formed in my throat, detaining me from screaming. My palms became sweaty and the bat was slipping from my grip. I enclosed my grip so hard on that bat feeling my circulation stop. I needed to get back up, lock my door and call the police. But then I realized: my phone was somewhere on the living room floor. So stupid! What could I do instead? Get back up and get out of the window and scream maybe. That might draw attention. I slowly turned away and began ascending. When I put my foot on the first stair, it creaked. Fuck!

'Hello, Rose!' a woman's voice said. Did I know her? I turned towards the source of those words. Then the light got turned on. And there I was, facing Tasha. I felt sick to my stomach.

'There you are. Why don't you come closer?' she asked with a squeaky voice.

'No thanks, I prefer this spot.'

'Maybe this will help you change your mind?' she asked as she revealed a gun from behind.

My blood went cold. I thought that this was the end of me. But I didn't want to die. I took a deep breath and made a step towards her.

'Stop. Drop it first.' she was talking about my bat. I slowly bent and put it on the floor. "Good girl. Now come closer.' I obeyed.

'Sit' she said, gesturing to the sofa. As I sat down she continued: 'You aren't such a beauty, you know? I can't understand what attracted him at you. You look like a child. You are a little dwarf.' she huffed sarcastically.

'You came here to insult me, huh?'. Well, if it was my time to go, I could at least do it my way. I shouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing me frightened.

'Not really. I came here with a more important purpose. Now about that, I have a call to make.'

She got out her phone and searched for something, then put her phone to her ear, watching me the entire time smiling. It took a couple of rings until the person she called responded.

'You finally picked up, baby. It took you some while.' pause. 'Oh, don't take me with ''What do you want Tasha?''. I really think that you want to hear what I have to tell you.' another pause. Why wasn't she talking in Russian? Oh, she wanted me to hear her. She wanted to scare me. Well, I wasn't going to show her how afraid I really was. She could just go to hell.

'Fine, I'll tell you. Can you guess who am I with right now?' she turned the speaker towards my direction. 'Say hello, Rose. It's your little lover, Dimitri.' my eyes widened. She put the phone back to her ear. 'What do I want? Well, I heard that you were in Baia, and I thought that your little girlfriend would need a little company in your absence. It was so bad from you to leave her here alone. So I am going to make you an offer you can't refuse. How long does it usually take to cover all the way to Moscow? Hm, about seven hours from what I remember. And because you know what a lovely woman I am, I'll give you six hours to come here and say goodbye to your little whore. Tick-tock Dimitri.' she said and she hanged up and looked at me with an evil smile.

It was three in the morning. Until nine o'clock I'd be long gone.

* * *

 **Thanks bobby. cervatez. 1 for pointing that out. I took care of it. :)**

 **What do you think, guys? Is Tasha going to kill Rose?**


	48. The truth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 47 - The truth**

'So how do you plan on killing me?' I asked, trying to distract her so that I could find a way to flee. I knew that screaming wouldn't help because nobody would hear me. Damn that band that soundproofed everything. 'Is it going to be a shot to the head, just between my eyes? Or is that too fast? You plan on killing me slowly, shooting me and watching me bleed to death?'

'Aren't you a chatty one?'

'Well, we have six hours at our disposal. It would be a pity if we wouldn't at least get to know each other before you kill me. Who knows? Maybe you will like me eventually and we'll end up braiding each other's hair.'

She laughed. 'Yeah, I don't think I'll ever like you. You took Dimitri away from me. You were screwing him while I was gone. That's not nice, you know?'

'Well, what can I say? Seeing him looking like that made me want to jump on him immediately. And I have seen that the path was free, you know? No sign of you into his house. You need to understand me there, Tasha. He is _so_ irresistible.' I said playing the innocent one.

'We weren't living together!'

'Aw, poor you. But weren't the both of you _engaged_? You should at least have a toothbrush into his apartment by that time. You know, marking your territory so that nobody could feast from your beloved while you are gone?'

She growled and slapped me. That bitch. 'Shut up! Or else...'

'Or else what? You are going to shoot me? I don't really think you want to do this right now. You want revenge. And you want to kill me while Dimitri is watching. You know you won't pull that trigger. Not until he is here to see you do so.'

'Really, miss know-it-all?' she said putting the barrel of the gun at my temple. I didn't even flinch.

'Really.' I responded.

She laughed. 'I think I get what attracted him to you.'

'Besides my skills between the sheets?'

'You have some balls, little girl. You did something to him. He only had eyes for me.'

'Was that before or after you left to France?'

She frowned.

'Oh, you didn't know I knew? It's okay. I know you got bored.' I was trying to make her tell me the truth. I needed to know if Dimitri's words were the truth. If I was going to die, I may at least die knowing all the facts. 'Even though I don't understand what could you possibly get bored of. He is such a stud. Did he get tired easily or something? Because with me he-'

'Fabien made me feel special!' she screamed.

'Who? Fabien, you lover?'

"Yes. He was my boss and from the moment he saw me he made me feel special. You wouldn't understand!'.

So it was all true. Oh my God! I can't believe this.

'Okay so you left. What do you want now? Oh, you kept in touch with Dimitri and made him wait for you like a helpless little puppy right? You thought that you could have them both, didn't you?'

'No, I haven't said a word to him since I left!'

'So why _did_ you come back now!?' we were yelling one at each other.

'Because Fabien left me! He said that he wasn't interested into having a family with me!'

'Oh, Tasha. But you see, you came back to no one really waiting for you.'

'Yeah! Because that bastard thought it would be fun to tell Dimitri that he was fucking my brains out!'

'Ouch, dick-move. And you still came back.' I laughed. "Did you really expect that he would want you back after that thing?'

'Yes! Because he always wanted me! I know that! He can say everything he wants about the fact that it wasn't love and that we were just comforting each other. That is bullshit! It was love! And he would have still followed me everywhere if you hadn't come along and twist his mind. He _cheated_ on me!'

'Um, newsflash! You cheated on him _first_. What were you expecting? For him to welcome you with open arms after all you put him through?'

'No! This is _not_ my fault! You are the one to blame! You made him leave me!'

"Fine! If that is what makes you sleep better at nights.'

Okay, this woman was mental. Nuts with records, I was sure. She had no sense. And this thing only made me surer that she will really shoot me as soon as Dimitri would enter that door.

We had a round of silence. And after that I kept on trying to piss her off enough so that she would do something that would give me the chance to get away from her. But no chance. She was constantly watching me, like an eagle on its pray. The patience this woman had was admirable. This talking-silence game was continuous for almost five hours.

* * *

It was 7:53 when the door to my apartment opened slowly, showing Dimitri enter. It took him so little to get here. He must have driven like crazy. When I saw him, my heart filled with sorrow. Where did we all got to?

'Put your hands up or I'll shoot her!'. Without a word he did what he has been told to.

He entered fully the apartment and the door closed behind him. The look in his eyes broke my heart. He looked so tired and full of regrets. He was blaming himself for all of this. But this wasn't his fault. Tasha was nuts. And he had nothing to do with this.

'Come closer, my dear. I want you to have the best spot when I spread her brains all over the place.'

'Tasha' he said. He was so calm. 'Tasha, look at me.' she turned her head, but her gun was still pointed in my direction. 'Rose is not the person you want to take revenge to.'

'You are _so_ wrong. She is the one who took you away from me!'

'No, I am the one who hurt you. I am the one you want to hurt back.'

He was trying to make her point her gun towards him. He was somehow provoking her. On God, Dimitri!

'She has no fault, and you know that. She didn't even know that we had a relationship. She had no idea that there was another woman in my life.'

I could see that those words hurt him as much as they hurt me.

Tasha was confused.

'It is me the one who you really want to shoot. I am the one who cheated on you.'

Oh my God, he was making her think that she was right.

'Yeah, you are, Dimitri. But I know that by shooting her it will hurt you even more.'

'Please, Tasha. I am the one who did you wrong. Please take your revenge on me. I won't be able to live without her. She is everything worth living for.'

Somehow, these words annoyed Tasha so much that she pointed her gun to his head. A knot formed into my stomach. She was going to shoot him! Her finger was already on the trigger.

'Oh my fucking God! You still care for that little bitch! What did she do to you?'

As she was still yelling at Dimitri something I couldn't pay attention to, I rapidly rose up. I went behind her and went for the gun. I tried to deviate it by slapping her hand. And it worked. Her hand went down and we started fighting for the gun, but unfortunately she has already pulled the trigger.

After that, a gasp was heard.


	49. Please don't leave me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 48 - Please don't leave me**

I instantly look at Dimitri, because I can't feel any pain. He is now on his knees, with his hand pressing the right lower part of his abdomen. His hands are crimson.

Tasha begins to babble and drops the gun on the floor. It discharges, a bullet cracking the window and shards spread everywhere and I scream in horror.

I get to him as fast as I can. I help him lay all the way down and I start applying pressure on his wound. It's so hot. The blood is covering my hands and it is so hot. Ambulance. We need an ambulance. I need a phone. Where is my phone? I look around. Tasha. Tasha has a phone.

'Tasha! Call an ambulance.'

'I...I didn't want to... .'

'Tasha, give me your fucking phone right now! Now!' I yell so hard that she snaps out of it, comes next to me and gives me her phone.

'Hey, hey, stay with me, please, don't close your eyes.' He is getting in shock. I have to move fast. With one hand I still press and with the other I call the emergency number.

Someone speaking Russian responds.

'Please, oh God, please send someone right now on Petrovka Street.'

'Madam, please calm down.'

'Don't tell me to calm down! He is dying! He has been shot. Get someone here fast, please!' I tell him the other details and he tells me that someone will get there in four minutes.

Four minutes. Four minutes, the longest period of time from my entire life. The seconds were passing incredibly slowly.

'Dimitri, please stay with me.' My voice is shaking, as is my whole body. He is trying to say something.

'Don't. Don't talk. Just don't fall asleep, please. Stay with me.' I am crying and shaking uncontrollably.

He is raising his hand and lays his palm on my cheek.

'Please don't leave me. It's going to be alright, do you hear me?'

'Roza' he says his voice so weak.

'Don't speak. Just, just, oh God. Just stay with me, please.' I beg as he is struggling to keep his eyes open. His hand falls back on mines.

'I am...I am s-ss-sorry.'

'No, no. Don't be. I am sorry for not believing in you. But this doesn't matter right now. Just stay with me, will you?' I kept on saying that just like a mantra in hopes that someone would listen to me.

I look at the clock. One minute away. Come on! Faster!

'I..' he begins to speak again. I am pressing so hard that my hands go numb. I can't feel them anymore.

'Love...'

'Don't leave me alone, please, Dimitri.' I say sobbing hard, feeling my chest ache with every breath.

He looks so peaceful, just like he has already accepted the fact that he is going to die. But I can't. I won't. His eyes look into mine and I can feel something bad coming. His hand is weakly squeezing mine. 'you.' he ends his sentence.

'Oh God, don't you dare say goodbye, you hear me? I won't let you go. Please, God, no. I just love you so much. I need you to stay. Please stay awake.' But he gives me a weak smile and his eyes close down. 'No, no, no, no' I keep on repeating. 'Just a little more, hang on please. Dimitri! Dimitri, please!' I scream, my voice choked with tears.

The next thing I know, some hands are picking me up and pull me away. I see some people hovering above Dimitri. The paramedics! They are here. Finally. Please God, I hope it is not too late. Please help him.

The same hands direct me towards the couch. I sit. I look down and I see so much blood on me. His blood. He has lost so much blood. No, he will be fine. He has to. I need him to be fine.

Someone is now in front of me. A man in uniform. A cop? He is speaking with me. But I can't understand a word. I shake my head. 'English?' he asks. I nod. I don't think I can speak right now. I am shaking and it is hard to breathe.

'Miss, I will need your help. Do you think you are able to answer a few questions?' No. I can't. But I nod. 'Okay. Can you tell me what happened?'

'She..she shot him. She wanted to shoot me and the he came and he talked and she wanted to shoot him in the head and I, I couldn't...and he is now...'

'Miss? Who shot him?'

'She, she did.' I look around. But there is no sign of Tasha. 'She left.' I am completely shocked. How could she just leave? 'Tasha. Her name is Tasha. She has to pay for this.'

'Just Tasha?'

I don't know her full name. Goddamnit! 'I don't know her full name.'

'Can you describe her to me?'

I spend the next two minutes responding to questions. He thanks me and announces me that he might need my help along the investigation.

I look around. Dimitri is no longer there. Oh, no. I should be with him. I run down the stairs and find the ambulance. They are taking him into the back. I beg one of the nurses to let me go with them. He looks at me with a pitiful expression and lets me get in.

Dimitri is laying on a bed, with an oxygen mask on his face. A paramedic is staying close to him, in case something may happen. I don't take my eyes off him the whole way to the hospital. Maybe he will somehow feel that I am there.

The road to the hospital is incredibly long. Every time the ambulance slows down I think that we arrived, but we don't really. At some point the sirens stop. I didn't even realize it has been roaring the whole time. We get down and they take Dimitri to the emergency room section. I am told that I am not allowed in there. So I remain in the hallway and I don't know what is happening with him anymore.


	50. Nurse Oksana

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 49 - Nurse Oksana**

This is the worst part. Not knowing. What are they doing to him in there? Is he going to be okay? Is he going to die? Is the surgery going okay?

Some nurses get out of the emergency section. I raise and stop one of them.

'Please, the man that was shot. Is he alright?'

'I can't say anything.'

Fuck! Nobody is going to tell me anything. All I can do is to wait. I hate waiting. But the nurse reaches into one of her pockets and hands me his phone. I take it and hold it in my hands.

Some time passes, I don't know how much. But the doors open and they take him out. Oh, thank God he is alive. They are taking him to the ICU. So is there a possibility that things might go wrong?

'You are the one who came with this man?' someone with a white coat asks me. I nod.

'Is he alright?'

'I can tell you that he is stable for the moment. The bullet hasn't got through any major organ which is good, but still, it got to his intestines. And he has lost a considerable quantity of blood. We need to keep him under strict observation at least this day. He is prone to an infection, I won't lie to you.' and with that being said he walked away to take care of his patient.

I was on my way to the ICU and I was planning on begging a nurse to let me see him. But his phone rings. It's Viktoria. Oh, God. What do I do? Should I answer? Maybe they are worried. I gather all my courage and answer the phone.

'Rose? Is that you? Where is Dimitri?'

I burst into tears in a second and I tell her that her brother has been shot and they should come to the hospital.

'Rose, hold on. We are leaving right now. We are coming as fast as we can.'

* * *

'Please Madam. Please. Just for a second.' I keep on saying this for the last five minutes to one of the nurses. She has refused my request so many times but I keep on trying. She gives me a desperate look.

'Fine. Five minutes.' she says in a strong accented voice and gestures me to follow her.

We enter Dimitri's room. He is laying on a bed, and he seems so small. He is such an imposing man and still, now he looks like a kid, his skin so pale. He is sleeping. The nurse tells me that he is sedated, so that he won't move and that the drugs will attenuate his pain. I get closer and I reach my hand to grab his. But I fear that if I touch him he is going to break. Finally, I gently caress his arm. He is as warm as I remember.

The nurse gives me some space and tells me that she will come back. I sit on the edge of the bed, careful not to move anything.

'God, Dimitri, I am so sorry. I don't know if you can hear me or something, but I just have to tell you how much I love you, and please, please, don't leave me. Please be fine. You just have to get through this day. Please be strong for me. I need you.' and after I say everything I felt the need to say, I just watch him sleep, until the nurse comes back and tells me that my time is up.

When we get back to the hallway I hug her and thank her for letting me see him. She looks at me and smiles weakly.

"You may want to go wash yourself, little girl.'

What is she talking about? I look down at myself. My hands are still bloody and my clothes stained.

'You might go home and change too.' I shake my head no.

'No, I won't leave. This doesn't matter.'

'I thought so.' she smiles 'Come with me; I might find you something to change into.'

I follow her and she gives me a pair of sweats and an over-sized T-shirt from some old patients that never came back for them. I thank her again and head for the restroom.

I take a look into the mirror and I scare myself with how bad I look. My hair is a mess, my eyes red like hell, my face puffy from all that crying and I have a splotch of blood on my neck. The rest of my body is not great either. I fill my hands with soap and turn on the faucet. And I begin to scrub my hands, and scrub, and scrub until my skin turns red. Images of Dimitri falling on the floor keep popping in my head. I take a deep breath. Stay calm Rose, he is fine now. I splash some cold water on my face. Then I change myself and throw my old clothes into a trash can before going back into the hallway of the ICU. And I wait. Everything I can do now is to wait. And I feel so useless.

I think I fell asleep, because the next thing I know is that Viktoria is in front of me, calling my name. I wake up in an instant. Only Viktoria and Olena came to the hospital. They hug me and ask me if I want to come inside with them to see Dimitri. I tell them that I have already been in there. And I don't want to intrude into their moment. They are his family and should go and see him alone. I wait for them in the hallway.

When they come back, their eyes are full of tears.

'What really happened, Rose? All we know is that he got a call from Tasha, and they talked something about you, and he just told us that he is going back to Moscow, no explanation given. The next thing we know is that you answer his phone and announce us that he has been shot. We thought that something happened to you, but you are fine. What happened?'

I tell them everything, starting from the moment I found Tasha in my apartment. 'And all of this is just my fault, because I could have directed that gun in other direction and Dimitri wouldn't have been shot and he wouldn't have to go through all of this. Or I could have fought with Tasha before he arrived or, or...' I am crying while I tell them this.

Olena takes me into her embrace. 'Oh, child, but you don't get it. Things could have been much worse. If you wouldn't have thrown yourself at Tasha, Dimitri could have been death. Calm down, Rose. This is not your fault. He is going to be okay, and this is everything that matters right now.'

Night comes, and we should get home, but I don't want to leave. I try to convince the two women to take Dimitri's apartment keys and go back to his place. I would give them mine, but my apartment is a horror scene. After some persuasion, they accept it and leave. I still hold my place into the hallway. Nobody can seem to make me leave that place. At some point, the same nurse from earlier passes right in front of me.

'You still here?' she looks at me worried. Then, out of nowhere, she is making me a sign to follow her. I do, and she gets me into Dimitri's room again.

'This is going to be our little secret, little girl. You can stay with him until morning, but don't tell anyone; otherwise we will both get in trouble. I will come to get you out in the morning before someone would come in and see you, okay?' my eyes fill with tears. She is so good to me. 'You can laugh, but I am one of the persons who think that if you spend time with someone who cares about you while you are in this state, it can help with your recovery. Call me a romantic or something, but I have been a nurse for a long time and I have seen my share of miracles.'

'Thank you so much.' is everything I can tell her. I love this woman. I look at her name tag. It says ''Oksana''. That is a name I will never forget for as long as I live.

* * *

 **Don't worry, bobby, I didn't mind at all. I in fact appreciate it. It simply slipped and I am glad I could remediate it.**

 **And I have six more chapters, excluding this one. The total is of 55 chapters.**

 **Hope you enjoy my story guys! :)**

 **Your reviews mean a lot for me and they actually made me think about writing another story, so thanks a lot! I'm going to see how that is going to work out.**


	51. Back to me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 50 - Back to me**

They decided to keep Dimitri sedated for five days, just to be sure that the stitches won't rip when he would start to move. He has passed successfully over the first day, and the only thing in order was to wait for him to wake up. Oksana would come by and tell me if anything changed. But things were usually the same. He kept on drifting between consciousness and sleeping.

* * *

I spend the first three days with Olena and Viktoria, but they had to go back, because Viktoria had some summer courses she had to attend and Olena had a family to take care of. I promised I would call every day and announce if anything changed. They were all going to come back when Dimitri would wake up.

* * *

One time, on my fourth day of guarding the hallway, Oksana came to me and told me that while he was awake, Dimitri kept on saying ''Roza''.

'I thought he might be referring to you. So I told him that you were fine and waiting for him to get better.' she laughed lightly. 'The two of you are something, you know? The love you have for each other is so obvious. I hope that you will get over this and everything would get to be alright.' she said patting my hand.

She was so nice to me. She would often come by and ask me how I was feeling, would bring me some snacks from the cafeteria and would spend some of her breaks keeping me company. Somehow, we developed a bond. She was reminding me of the mother I used to have, just like Olena. In this hospital, this woman was our guardian angel.

* * *

My nights were all the same. Oksana would come to me around eight and would sneak me inside his room. I would take my usual place on a chair, take his hand into mines and hold it. I would talk to him for hours, tell him all kind of stories from when I was a kid, jokes, I would tell him what I have spoken with his family earlier that day, I would tell him what I hoped the future would bring to us, and when I would feel that I couldn't keep my eyes open, I would kiss his forehead, I would tell him that I forgave him, that I was sorry for not listening to him earlier, sorry for not being able to stop Tasha, but mostly I would tell him how much I loved him and how much I waited for the moment when he would wake up and come back to me. Then, I would lay at the edge of the bed next to him and go to sleep.

* * *

On the fifth day, the doctor administrated the last dose of sedatives and they were expecting him to gain consciousness the next morning. After that, they would do some tests or something and would keep him into a normal room for another week or so. That meant that this was my last day of sneaking around.

I did my nightly ritual, telling Dimitri lastly that I dreamed the previous night that we were married. After this, I fell asleep next to him.

I woke up as Oksana was stroking my hair to make me wake up. I raised my head but the room was still dark and Oksana was nowhere to be found. Did I dream that? I looked at Dimitri, expecting to find him still asleep. But his eyes were open.

'You are awake.' I said as I rose up fast. He moaned. 'Oh, God, I am so sorry. Does it hurt you bad? I should go get a nurse or better a doctor to come and see you or they would better give you some pain killers. I am so sorry, Dimitri.' I spoke rapidly.

He put a hand on mine to stop me from speaking and simply shook his head no.

I began to cry. He was finally awake. I took his hand and brought it to my mouth kissing it. 'You are awake.' I sighed. He cupped my cheek and was gently brushing it with his thumb.

'My Roza.' When I heard him say that, the crying stopped. A wave of relief flooded my body.

'I am so sorry.' Dimitri said.

'No, no, don't be. It's alright, I understood everything. And I forgave you a long time ago. It doesn't matter anymore. Everything that matters is that you are here with me now. Nothing else.'

'I am sorry for not being there to protect you, Roza. When I got that call from Tasha the only thing I could think about was losing you. And I couldn't. I don't think I'll be able to live without you.'

'Listen to me. None of the things that happened that day is your fault. Not ever. You get me? And I am fine, thanks to you. Because you made her shoot you instead. That woman is not in the right place, mentally speaking and there is nothing we could have done more about this. And I don't want you to blame yourself anymore. Let's just forget about all of this and focus on you getting better. No more talking about the past, okay?' he didn't respond immediately. 'Comrade, will you, please? Just let's get over this and let the police do its job and everything.' he finally nodded. 'Perfect. Now get some more rest, please. The doctor will come and check on you in the morning. Don't force yourself too much, okay?'

I lay back and he starts stroking my hair again. 'I love you so much' I said lastly and we simply stood there, not speaking for the rest of the night.

Finally, things were alright. Finally, he was awake. Finally, he came back to me. And I would never let him leave again.

* * *

 **Thanks for the advice freindly guest. Yeah, English is not my primary language so I am getting by as best as I can. :)**


	52. The Svobodniy kids

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

I changed Tasha's last name, because in my story she has no connection with Christian.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 51 -The Svobodniy kids**

 **One month later** :

'What the fuck do you mean? Are they out of their minds? And are _you_ out of your mind?'

'Roza, please understand.'

'Don't you _Roza_ me, Dimitri! This thing is so wrong and you know it! How can they let her go?'

'She won't be really free.'

'The hell she will! I don't care if there is someone with her all the time! It is so easy to run away from someone.'

'But it is only for a month or so, until the trial is over.'

'But why would they do something like that? She is a fucking ready-to-explode walking danger.'

'She has an acquaintance, Victor Dashkov, who is a very resourceful man, and he somehow persuaded the judge to let her free while the trial is on.'

'So they want to tell me that after it took a whole month to those fucking incompetents to find her hiding into a forgotten dump, they are now _still_ letting her roam free on the streets? This cannot be happening. And I am so not going to hide. I am not the one who has to fear. She is. Because the next time I see her I am going to rip her head off for what she did to you!' he was smiling at me. 'And why the hell are you smiling? This is so not funny!'

'I just simply love when you get mad. Not at me, of course, but there is a flame that is burning in your eyes every time you think about someone that could hurt someone you love. I really think that you are going to be a momma bear.' his words made my heart melt. 'But you are right, this is not funny.' he gets back to being serious. 'And that's why I need you to stay inside, at least when I am not around. At least I won't have to worry so much about where you are and what is happening.'

'Ugh, I hate it when you bring logic into discussion. But I don't want to show her that I am afraid. And I don't need a bodyguard. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I have learned from the best, didn't I?' he smiled again. 'So?' I asked expecting for him to give in.

'No, Rose. And it won't be so long either. A month will pass fast. And I don't work for so long, remember? Because I am still recovering and they allowed me to just go and do simple things. So I'll be gone for only a couple of hours a day.'

'Fine, fine. But I have a condition for you too. I don't care how much better you say you are feeling, and how manly you want to appear or badass, but you won't lift a single weight until I say so. Otherwise, you can forget about me being a locked-in-tower princess.'

'Fine, my little princess. We have a deal.' he said kissing my forehead.

* * *

It was a hell of a month. It was a constant fear for the both of us, even though Dimitri wouldn't let me see that he was worried. But I could feel how tense he was every time we got out of the house or he heard something suspicious. He would always call me when he wasn't around for the silliest reasons. I was full of having to watch over my shoulder all the time. This was so consuming for both us. I would often dream that Tasha came again into our house to finish her job. Sometimes I would be the one killed, sometimes it was Dimitri.

That month was full of hearings into the Tasha case. And lots of declarations and accusations. What was so hard? That woman wanted to kill Dimitri and shot him! Put her ass in jail and let her rot in there! But the legal system was so complicated. Tasha's lawyer pleaded for insanity and the judge bought it. I have to admit, the woman was bananas, but that didn't excuse all the shit she has done.

Finally, the judge reached the decision that Tasha was mentally unstable when she attacked us. She was bad when that guy left her, and coming home to see Dimitri leave her only made things worse. I could almost feel sorry for her. Almost. So the judge got her locked into an institute, to my disappointment.

Before the policeman took her away, as she was passing us, she turned and said to us: 'I am sorry. I don't know what happened to me. I just loved you so much and I couldn't see you with her. I am sorry. I was blinded by my hatred.'

But finally, our lives could go on, without having to be constantly reminded of that event.

* * *

I had moved in with Dimitri since I had already given up on my apartment. But the funny thing is that no one moved into my apartment after that. In fact I was the only lessee there in years. People didn't seem to like that apartment. And Dimitri and I didn't mind at all not having a neighbor, because we would often get noisy. Well, _I_ would often get noisy.

It was a good life that we were living together. After all the problems we created to each other and everything that happened because of Tasha, we kind of deserved it.

* * *

 **The 20th of August**

'Are you ready?'

'Yeah, just a second, I have to put on my shoes and we can go.'

I got into the car and put on my seatbelt.

The next seven hours we spent almost in silence, just holding hands, because none of us didn't really feel like speaking. We were going to Yakov's grave, because today it was the second anniversary of his tragic death. Dimitri promised that he would go there every year, and this time I wanted to be there for him. He didn't say no. He wasn't pushing me away anymore, like he did into those first months when we met. He trusted me with anything now, as I did with him. Even with my life.

We finally arrived to the cemetery. It was such a beautiful day. The sun was up and was warming everything around and the birds were singing their harmonious songs. He stopped at the entrance. It was hard for him to do this, I knew. Because he felt that it was his fault that Yakov died. But maybe things were just meant to happen that way. I am not a big fan of ''everybody has a written destiny that he can't change'', but even I knew that some things were meant to happen anyway, no matter what we do to stop them from happening. I went to him, I interlaced my fingers with his and looked at him with all my love. He squeezed my hand and we entered.

We travelled the paved alleyways and we got to Yakov's grave. It was so beautiful. Made from black marble, nothing too sophisticated, just simple and beautiful. It had a photo of him in a blue marine suit. And he was smiling. He was a handsome man. It was such a pity when young people were dying. All that life wasted, lost into nothingness. Along the photo was a silvery inscription that said: Yakov Svobodniy, a brave man, beloved son and brother, faithful friend (I asked Dimitri to translate it to me later). Next to his tombstone were two lit candles and a bouquet of white roses. Someone seemed to have been there earlier.

Dimitri kneeled and I handed him the bouquet of freesias that I picked up that morning. I placed a hand on his shoulder and told him: 'I'll let the two of you talk.' he smiled weakly and nodded. I said a little prayer for Yakov's soul and walked away.

I was looking at some woman's tombstone when I felt a hand encircling my waist from behind. It was Dimitri, I could sense his cologne. 'Are you okay?' he asked. I guessed that I should have been the one asking that question but I didn't say anything. I nodded and turned around. He had slightly red eyes. He has been crying. I have never seen him like this. I took his hand into mine, squeezing it, into an attempt of conforting him, and asked him if he was ready to go home.


	53. Meeting her parents

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 52 - Meeting her parents**

Summer was long gone, and autumn ended just as fast. My second and last year of college started and everything was good.

As winter came, so did the holidays. My parents decided to come and visit us. I told them about Dimitri, but they didn't have the chance to meet him yet.

And, as Dimitri's family organized that gathering every year, he came with the brilliant idea of inviting my parents to Baia. It seemed a good idea that our families would meet too. But as that day was approaching, I couldn't stop worrying. I was thinking of all the things that could go bad. What if my parents didn't approve with Dimitri? It would have been so hard for me, because in the last year my relationship with my parents got a lot better. And by not approving, that would mean that we were going to have a fight. I wasn't going to give up on Dimitri. What if our families wouldn't get along and would throw one at each other's necks? What if they would get to unite their forces into a master plan to tear us apart? Of course, I didn't say that my worries were rational. But still, I was nervous and I couldn't help it.

It was the 24th and we were now pulling into the Belikovs' alley. Dimitri got out of the car and came to open my door. But I didn't move.

'What are you doing?'

'Can't we go back? I forgot my dress.'

'No, you didn't. And even if you did, you look absolutely beautiful in everything so there is no need to worry.'

'Aw, thank you. But I miss Lil' Dimka. We have to go back to get him. We even forgot to water him before we left. He must be drying by now.'

'We gave Ivan our keys, Rose. He will be alright.'

'I, um, I forgot Viktoria's gift. She would kill me if I tell her.'

'No, you didn't. I have put it into the trunk since yesterday.'

I didn't know what other excuses to come up with. So I resumed to not saying anything while still sitting into the car.

'Roza, what is wrong?'

'I don't know. It's just this bad feeling. What if things will go bad?'

'But what if they are going to be perfect?'

I frowned. 'What if my parents don't like you? What if my father gives you ''the talk''? I would die of embarrassment'

'Rose, I would do anything for you. Do you think that ''the talk'' would make me leave you or something?'

'Well, you don't know my father. He can be very scary when he's mad.'

He gave me _the look_. That one that was telling me to stop it and think straight.

'Fine. But you have to know that if my father cuts your thing while you are sleeping into an access of rage, I'd still love you.' I said blinking rapidly and he laughed.

I finally got out of the car and his family greeted us.

* * *

My parents arrived from their hotel on the day of the gathering, all fancied up. It was a while since I saw them like this. They weren't going out as much as they did when I was young. But with my departure, they seemed to resume this habit. And it was good for them. They seemed so much happier.

I was so nervous that I couldn't eat a single thing the entire day and Viktoria was constantly making fun of me.

Dimitri and I were the ones who welcomed them. Everything went well in the beginning with all the presentations and cordial conversation. The dinner went well too, except all of my father's questions (What school did you go to? Military, huh? Marine, huh? Where do you work now? You having a good income? Where do you live? Any criminal record? You taking care of my little girl? You making her happy? and others that kept coming and never ending). When I was telling him to stop, Dimitri would simply say that it's okay and he would respond. Olena would simply sit and smile every time I would intervene. I knew she had no problem with me, as she stated the exact moment I entered her house yesterday. She already considered me one of her daughters.

After the elaborated dinner interrogatory, the four of us went to the living room. As we were listening to music and sipping some refreshments, my father dropped the question:

'Dimitri, we should let the ladies talk, don't you think? Would you like to take a walk?'

'Daaaaad! Don't do this.'

Smiling, he said: 'But what am I doing? I am just letting the two of you ladies catch up a little, while your boyfriend is going to show me around. There is nothing wrong with that, isn't it?'

'You know what I am talking about. Can we jump over this step? Please?'

'Hmmmm. No. See you later ladies.'

And they left. When I turned to my mother, she was smiling.

'That's funny, isn't it?' I said gently poking her.

'Yeah, it really is in fact. It made me remember when my dad did this to your father. You should have seen his face when they returned.' she laughed, me too. So this was tradition. It had to be done.

'Do you think he likes Dimitri?'

'I think that if he didn't he wouldn't be out there in the cold giving him ''the talk''.'

'So, it's a yes?' she nodded.

'What about you?'

'Huh?'

'You. Do you like him? Don't you have a problem with, you know, his..'

'Age?'

'Mhm.'

'No, I don't. In fact, I believe that this is a good thing for you. He is making you more,' she paused a little 'rational. You act different since he is your life. So, no, I don't have a problem with that.'

This was followed by a little pause.

'Are you happy, Rose?'

'The happiest I have ever been.'

'Good. This is important. If you are happy, nothing else matters.'

They came back relatively fast and to my utter surprise, they were both smiling. It had to mean that things were alright, no? They returned and I hugger Dimitri, impatient to know how everything went:

'So, how did it go? I he going to kick your ass?'

He laughed slowly and responded: 'Nothing I couldn't endure for you.' then we broke out embrace.

The rest of the night passed perfectly. I even watched my parents dance together. They were so sweet. Sometimes I was wondering how they were still together after all this time. But when I saw the looks into their eyes while they were dancing, I knew. They loved each other as it was the first day. I hoped that Dimitri and I would get to live happily many years together.


	54. Graduation day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 53 - Graduation day**

It is true that time flies when you enjoy yourself.

Today was my big day. Another school year has passed. I was going to graduate today.

My mom and dad came to my ceremony. They were so happy to see their daughter into a black cap and gown. My mother even let some tears fall. I almost never seen her cry. It was so touching. I have finally done something right and they were so proud of me. And I loved them so much. Even Lissa and the grouchy Christian were there. She kept on hugging me and squealing every five minutes or so.

Everybody was there. Except one person. Dimitri. He was late. Mister Military was late. Exactly today, from all of the days. The ceremony was about to start and he wasn't there. I wanted to pretend that I was fainting or that there was a bomb attack or something just to delay the beginning, but I thought it would be better not to ruin everybody's day.

Did he forget? He must have forgotten. Otherwise he would be here. Well, his loss. He was going to have to deal with a pissed off _Roza_ when he got home. I couldn't wait to see how he was going to pull it through. I was going to be especially unresponsive, just for him.

The ceremony began. The principal was holding his boring speech. I didn't bother to listen. My mind was in another place. Why _wasn't_ he here? He told me that he spoke to his superior to give him permission today. What if they made him stay and deal with some naughty students? He was having now an important role in educating the young minds, nevertheless.

* * *

 **Flashback:**

 _We were laying one day in bed and I asked him if he enjoyed what he was doing before quitting._

 _'Yes, I did enjoy it very much. I have always liked these things. It was my dream since I was little.'_

 _'Yeah, I can tell. You really like playing the general with me.'_

 _'Oh, Roza, but you enjoy it, too. Very much I can say. For example last night you..'_

 _'Hey, hey, hey, don't you change the subject. I am trying to keep my thoughts in order now. And with you bringing into discussion last night doesn't help me. At all.' he chuckled, somehow proud of himself. 'So, as I was saying. You did enjoy your work. Do you miss it too?'_

 _He thought about it for a second. 'Yes. I think that I miss it too.'_

 _'So, if I would tell you about an announcement I found would you consider it?'_

 _'What is it about?'_

 _'Well, a Marine school nearby is looking for an instructor who would help them educate the young minds of poor kids who choose to follow this path. How that sounds? If you don't like it, I won't bring it up anymore. I just thought that you won't have to work with bastards. And you will get the chance to inspire young people to do good.'_

 _He seemed to have a little fight with himself inside. Then, he turned to me, smiling. 'I like this idea.'_

 _And so he got back to what he loved to do. It made a big difference. He became happier. And I was so happy for him. And he was so good at it and so competent. In four months, he already advanced. I knew that in a relatively short period he would get to be the boss around that place. He was simply the best at everything he did. He didn't graduate at the top of his class for nothing._

* * *

It was time for us to go on stage and receive our diplomas. As I was getting up the stairs attached to the stage, I searched through the crowd. I saw Lissa (she was so beautiful, dressed in a baby blue dress that matched her golden hair) next to Christian (as always, dressed in black) and my parents who were having big smiles glued to their face. Next to them was an empty seat. I made a face and I continued the search and, as I got to the front of the stage, I saw a very tall someone approaching fast. Was that him? Then he looked up. It was him. My man. He was wearing a navy-blue Marine uniform, his hair almost slipping away from the hair band and that beautiful mess was all over his face. He looked flushed. Has he been running? Then my eyes met that pool of chocolate and everything was alright in my world. He lifted his hand and I could see that he was holding a bouquet of peonies. He gestured towards them and mouthed: ''the flowers''. Oh, he was late because of them. It didn't matter. He was there now. I gave him a big reassuring smile and shook my hand telling him that it didn't matter.

It took a while to get to the letter H, but now my name has been called and I stepped forward to get my diploma. I did that thing with moving your tassel and posed for a photo. As I was getting down the stage, I saw my gang applauding and cheering. How could you possibly not love them?

When all of the ceremony was over, we went to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. We all laughed and had a good time. It was now around six in the evening when we said our goodbyes and Dimitri and I were on our way home.

'I am sorry for being late. But I went to three flower shops to find those.' he said pointing my bouquet.

'It's okay. I knew you will be there.' yeah, but I still doubted he would arrive and planned to make his life miserable, but anyway 'and it was worth the effort, comrade. Because they are gorgeous. And they smell divine. I love when you bring me flowers.'

We were close to our building.

'Um, do you feel like making a little visit to the market?'

'Why? Do you need something?'

'Maybe.'

'What is it?'

'I want ice cream.'

'But you already had a cheesecake.'

'Yeah, I know. But Lissa's ice cream looked delicious and now I am craving some. Can we go, please?'

'Fine, we'll go. It's your special day and we are doing everything you want.'


	55. Will you be mine forever?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

This chapter is rated M. You have been warned :)

* * *

 **CHAPTER 55 - Will you be mine forever?**

I was sitting on the kitchen counter scooping some ice cream as Dimitri was bringing in the rest of the groceries. When he finished, he came in front of me. I extended a full spoon into his direction. He took it. And then he took my ice cream and put it away.

'I was thinking you would like to receive your graduation gift.'

'Is it something that involves eating comrade? Because I don't see another reason for you taking my ice cream away. I didn't finish it.' I said false pouting.

'Yes, you can say that.' he said, letting his accent slip.

'Hm, is it chocolates again? Oh, or are you going to cook me something? I love watching you cook. It turns me on, you know? And you being dressed in this uniform right now? Double pleasure. God.' I said shaking my head trying to get that thought out of my mind and then he responded, raising an eyebrow playfully.

'No, I was thinking about something more carnal.' he emphasized the last word.

I smiled naughtily. 'I like how that sounds, comrade.'

He proceeded to kiss me, while his hands were finding their way down, lifting my skirt and dragging my panties down.

'Here, on the counter?'

'Mhm. I can't wait till we get to bed.'

I giggled. "Kinky. I like it.'

Then he got down on his knees and parted my legs. He started to plant gentle kisses on my inner thigh. My intestines began to tremble with anticipation. I grabbed the edges of the counter to steady myself. When he got where he was heading, he stopped and looked at me. I was already breathing heavily.

'Oh, Roza, this sight.' He said and exhaled deeply and I felt his hot his breath on my thigh. My whole body quivered.

Then he began to lick and suck on my hot center. I moaned loudly and my legs went to his back, my heels pushing him into the ribs, dragging him towards me even more and encouraging him to go deeper. It was such a maddening sensation. But suddenly he stopped and rose up.

I was bewildered. I pouted and asked: 'Letting your business unfinished, comrade?'

He put a hand on the counter behind me, came closer and kissed me, his tongue invading my mouth. 'Maybe' he said. The hell he was. I was way too aroused. I encircled my arms around his neck and dragged him even closer. I could feel his hard member pressing on to my calf. Oh, he wasn't going to get away easily.

But as we were kissing, without me noticing, his hand got down and with two of fingers he began to massage my clit. I was taken by surprise and my back arched involuntarily.

'Oh, fuck me.' I squealed.

He smiled. 'A little bit later, Roza. Have some patience.'

Damn him. It felt so good. I wasn't able to say another word. Then, he thrust me. I grabbed his T-shirt and moaned. 'Oh, my...'.

'So hot, and so, so wet.' he whispered into my ear. I arched my body backwards in pleasure. God, even his words were enough to set me off.

He moved faster and faster. In and out, up and down, in and out and some circles. I was so close to my release. Our bodies were moving in sync with each other. I was pushing my body hard towards him, so that he would get deeper and deeper.

Then I came. I gripped his shirt holding on for dear life and I think I heard the cloth rip. My whole body was convulsing and I was screaming in pleasure. This man really knew how to take a woman to the highest peaks. And he didn't stop moving inside me as I was descending back on earth.

When I calmed down a little, he grabbed my legs and encircled them around his waist and he picked me up. On our way up, I was still gently moaning because my sensitive area was rubbing onto his clothes as he was walking.

He took me upstairs and when we got into the bedroom, our clothes were on the floor in a matter of seconds. He laid me on the soft mattress and we continued what we started earlier.

* * *

An hour later, I was laying on my stomach on the mattress, along with Dimitri.

'Okay, that was, simply awesome. I think I want to graduate every day.' I said and he laughed in response.

I raised myself, trying to put myself on top of him.

'Oh my Gooood, I am so sore. Everything hurts.' I said as I landed on him, with my head on his chest.

I began to encircle his scar. I was having the impulse to do that every time I saw it. It was a constant reminder of his love for me. He was ready to sacrifice himself for me. ''She is everything worth living for''. That's what he said that day. And he was my everything too.

I kissed his rib cage and looked at him. He was looking at me strange. Like he was hypnotized. Like he was somewhere else.

'Comrade, are you okay?'

'Yeah, I think I'll go take a shower.'

'Fine, I won't move much. It still hurts.'

He rose, kissed my forehead and got out of bed, walking towards the door. I loved to watch him walk around in all of his glory. He was so hot I couldn't get my eyes off him.

As the water was running I got out of the bed with much effort. God, I think I won't be able to walk straight for a whole week. I dressed myself with a nightgown he liked. As I sat back on the bed, he came into the bedroom and stopped into the door frame, leaning on it and giving me that look again.

'Dimitri, you are giving me that look again. What is wrong?'

'Nothing.' he said slowly.

He started to scare me. What was happening?

He covered the distance between us and when he got to me, he took my hands and rose me up. Then he took out something out of his back pocket and kneeled in front of me. I brought my hands to my mouth.

'Roza, will you be mine forever? I don't want to grow old unless it is with you.'

I began to cry from the overwhelming happiness. 'Yes, yes, yes!'

He put the ring on. It was so beautiful. It was an antique piece.

He rose up and took me into his tight embrace.

'What took you so long?' I asked still crying slowly but laughing now.

'I wanted to ask you ever since I came home from the hospital. And from that day, I wanted to ask you every single day. But I kept on searching for a perfect occasion. Then I thought that I should just get carried away. And I did.'

'You are so silly.' I said kissing him on his lips. 'I would have said yes every day.'

He picked me up and spun me around the room. When he stopped, I extended my hand and looked at the ring.

'Do you like it?'

'I love it, Dimitri.'

'It was my grandmother's.'

'Yeva's?' he nodded.

'She gave it to me herself.'

'Then I love it even more.' I said as I cupped his cheek and dragged him closer for another kiss.

* * *

 **Jacjac, yeah, that is exactly what I meant to write, but the letters got mixed up :)**

 **Guys, can you believe that tomorrow I will update the last chapter? Please tell me what do you think about my story. What was the chapter you liked more? I really want to know.**


	56. Our little human

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy and neither of its characters. That is all the work of the marvelous author Richelle Mead. I just own the plot of this story.**

This chapter is also rated M for the little scene in the end. In rest, it is just cute. :)

* * *

 **CHAPTER 55 - Our little human**

 **Some time later:**

I was still wiping my mouth as I got into the bedroom.

'Comrade, I think that we have to cancel the house hunting from later. I don't feel so good. I guess I shouldn't have eaten so much last night.'

'Come here, lay' he said while patting the place beside him. I did as he said.

After I did so, he rose and lifted my shirt, uncovering my abdomen. He then kissed it and whispered something to it in Russian.

'Some secret spell that will make me feel better, comrade? Are you tracing your grandmother's steps?' he laughed.

'No, Roza. I was just saying welcome to our little baby.' at that I was the one who laughed.

'Dimitri, don't be silly. I just have some food poisoning or something.'

'Roza, can't you see?'

'See what?'

He gently poked one of my breasts. 'Ouch! I told you that my chest hurt!' I said as I was slapping his hand in revenge.

'This. Your breasts are so full and tender to touch.'

'Yeah, because my period is around the corner, dummy.'

'Fine. How many days in a row have you been throwing up in the mornings?'

I counted. 'Three. But as I told you, I have some food poisoning or something. Don't be silly. Don't make me goo pee on a stick to prove you wrong, please. I am tired.'

'See? And you are tired all the time. Where should I add that you always make me buy you ice cream?'

'Hey! You know I love ice cream. What connection does that have with being pregnant?'

He didn't respond to that, just continued to speak. 'But most of all,' he passed a hand through my hair. 'you are simply glowing. You are so beautiful right now that I won't ever let you leave this bed.' his words made me blush a little. He always had this effect on me, no matter how many times he told me that I was beautiful.

'Okay, I am _totally_ going to pee on that stick right now. Maybe that will make you shut up.' him and his silly ideas. Me, pregnant. Ha!

I rose and got to the bathroom. I was going to prove him that he was talking nonsense. I knew me. Wouldn't I _feel_ that? I had to give up on my pill because it was making me feel sick but we were using condoms, for fuck's sake!

I strolled through one cabinet and found a pregnancy test I kept just in case. I opened it fast and read the instructions. After doing everything it said, I had to wait for five minutes. I was leaning on the edge of the sink.

While waiting, I was thinking about what he said to me earlier. Was this really possible? We have been careful all the ti-. Oooooh. But there was that one time when he forgot to buy some condoms and I told him that I didn't care and that I wanted him to take me no matter what. Yeah...so he may be right.

Two minutes left. Am I ready to look at that test? I mean, I want to have children with this man. Hell, I would make him a whole football team if he wants to, that much I love him. But wasn't I too young? Would I be ready to have a baby? Was I ready to be a mother? As I was stressing over this, I was nervously playing with the ring on my finger. We were going to be a family in no longer that two months. So, maybe a baby would be something normal to happen, right?

The waiting ended. I can't. I simply can't turn this shit and look at it! I am way too nervous.

'Roza?' he asked knocking on the door. I panicked. I haven't looked at the result yet. My heart was pounding. I opened the door. He was staying there, his head tilted and watching me with that expression that was telling me how much he loved me.

I handed him the pregnancy test. 'Here, take this. You look at it. I can't.' I began biting my nail. I was so fucking nervous!

He took it and looked at it. The moment I saw that smile appearing on his face, every worry disappeared and I knew. I knew I wanted to have this man's kids and I felt that I was ready for everything as long as he was there with me.

'So?' I asked.

He took me into his embrace and kissed my forehead. 'You have no idea how happy you made me, Roza. I love you so much.'

* * *

We were now laying again on the bed. Dimitri was drawing circles on my belly. He was so gentle. And he kept on looking at me from time to time like he couldn't believe all of this was real. Hell, I couldn't believe it either!

'What do you think is it going to be?' I asked.

'It doesn't matter. It is going to be our baby. This is all that matters.'

'Yeah, but shouldn't we think about some names at least?'

'Sure'

'Do you know any nice girl names?'

'Eva?'

'Naaah, too biblical for my taste, comrade. What do you say of Anastasia?'

'It sounds nice. But we still have time to think about that, you know?'

'Yeah, I know. What about boys? And please don't say Boris.' he laughed.

'Danila?'

'That's cute. But I have a better idea.'

'What?' he asked turning his head, watching me.

'I was thinking we could call him Yakov.' a sign of sorrow crossed his face. But then, a smile light up his entire face.

'I would love that very much.' he said and rose up to kiss me.

* * *

'You know, this means that we have to go look for that house. We don't have enough space here.'

'Don't worry, we will find our home soon.'

'I already found mine, Dimitri. Is everywhere you are.'

* * *

'Should we go shopping? Oh, are we going to buy those teeny tiny shoes and these little clothes? Our baby is going to be so cute! Can you imagine? Our own little human, Dimitri.' I don't know why, but I simply began to cry.

Dimitri looked at me bewildered, smiled weakly and passed his hands over my cheeks. 'What's wrong, mommy?'

'I don't know.' I said, beginning to laugh. 'It came out of nowhere.' he was laughing too by now. He took me into his embrace, saying 'Oh, Roza.'

'Are you going to sing him, or her that lullaby?'

'What lullaby?'

'The one you sang to me when I was sick. It was so beautiful. And your voice is so beautiful too. And reassuring. You make me feel safe just by hearing you speak.'

'Of course I will, Roza. Every night.'

* * *

'Aren't you afraid that I am going to be a hormonal beast?'

'Never, Roza. I will still love you, no matter what.'

'Are you sure? I was crying like five minutes ago.'

'Very sure.'

'You know, speaking of hormones...'

He was now laying on his back and turned his head to face me. He was waiting for me to continue.

'You know, I kinda feel like, you know...and you said earlier something about us, not leaving the bed.' I said, beginning to trace lines on his bicep.

He gave me a playful smile and in a swift movement, he came above me and took off my shirt. Then, with gentle movements, he began licking my sore nipple, nipping on it from time to time. It was the most pleasurable feeling, with my skin so sensitive in that moment. When I was already breathing heavily, he rose and kissed me and then we made sweet love.

Damn, this man knew how to keep me happy.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Soooo this was the last chapter guys! I can't believe that we made it! Thank you for your likes and favorites and your reviews! I love you guys so much for the support you showed to me.**

 **I might have another idea for one more fan fiction, but I do not know for sure. :) I already began working on some ideas and I can say that things are going into a good direction. Who knows, maybe I will actually finish it.**

 **Stay tuned**

 **XOXO**


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